The Conservatory Singers and The Chorale choirs will present a final joint concert of the 2016-17 academic year on Sunday, April 30, at 5 p.m. in Linn Memorial Church on the Fayette campus of Central Methodist University.
The concert is open to the public at no cost.
The Conservatory Singers will perform music centered around the elements—earth, air, fire, and water. The Chorale will follow with music based on the theme of music for living.
The 62-member Conservatory Singers are directed by Dr. Laura Wiebe, CMU assistant professor of music. She has a D.M.A. in choral conducting and pedagogy from the University of Iowa and has been with CMU since 2014.
Her choir will perform “Estrellita del sur: Vals Peruano (Little Star from the South: Peruvian Waltz)” by Felipe Coronel Rueda and arranged by Enrique Iturriaga; “City Called Heaven” a traditional gospel song arranged by Josephine Poelinitz; “J’entends le moulin” from Trois chansons folkloriques, a French folk song arranged by Donald Patriquin;
“Waters Ripple and Flow,” a Czecho-Slavak folk song arranged by Deems Taylor and sung by the women of The Conservatory Singers; “Walking in the Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Randall Thompson, sung by the men of The Conservatory Singers; “A Foggy Day” by George Gershwin; and “’Neath the Black and Nilegreen” by T. Berry Smith.
“’Neath the Black and Nilegreen” was for years Central’s “battle hymn.” It was written in 1909 by Dr. T. Berry Smith, professor of history and science at Central and Central President from 1901-03. He was a true Renaissance man who was well-known for his poetry as well.
Dr. Claude Westfall conducts the 28-member Chorale. He has been associate professor of music at Central and director of choral activities since joining CMU in 2008. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri.
The Chorale will sing “The Music of Living” by Dan Forrest; “Vanitas Vanitatum (Requiem for the Living)” also by Dan Forrest; a Yom Kippur prayer “Avinu Malkeinu” by Max Janowski and arranged by Patrick Sinozich; “There We Shall Rest” by Kim Arnesen from text by St. Augustine; “And Can It Be” by Dan Forrest, based on the text by Charles Wesley; and “Walk Together Children” by Moses Hogan.
