Choir Events Slated for Next Weekend

The first choir concert under the direction of Professor Thomas Clark, new director of choral activities at Central Methodist University, is scheduled for Sunday, September 29. The concert, beginning at 3 p.m. in Linn Memorial United Methodist Church, will feature the voices of the CMU Chorale and Conservatory Singers.

The Chorale will perform South Dakota Shadows Suite by composer Jackson Berkey, directed by Clark. A string ensemble will accompany the piece, along with collaborative artists Janet O'Neill on piano and Zachary C. Kierstead on synthesizer. 

South Dakota Shadows opens with a beautiful love song, setting the scene for this extended choral tone poem. Berkey weaves the words with the music, moving from the Scandinavian choral tradition in Indian Summer and Evening Shadows, to jazz with Mercy Song, country in Turkeys and Badgers, and a powerful choral and piano quintet piece, Requiem for a Pioneer Mother. Also included is a reflective, emotional instrumental highlight, Boxing with Snowflakes.

The Conservatory Singers will complete the program with a newly released rendition of Shenandoah. Also featured on the program is Rivers of the Living Water, set to the hymn tune LAQWUIPARLE. This song, known as the "Dakota Hymn," was sung by thirty-eight Dakota prisoners of war as they were led to execution at Mankato, Minnesota, on December 26, 1862. First published in the Dakota Indian Hymnal (1916), the ensemble will be accompanied with instrumentation, including flutes, piccolo, drums, and fiddle.

The concert is free and open to the public.

Members of the Chorale include:

• Sopranos – Elizabeth Berry, Madisyn Conway, Emily Millstead, Richelle Milburn, Grace O'Neal, Ralyn Rampton, and Lauren Shields
• Altos – Taylor Baker, Mallory Boyer, Emeline DeLapp, Samantha Maddux, Mariah Nichols, and Arielle Prince
• Tenors – Grady Baker, Danny Eckhoff, Owen Flores, Tyler Hershey, and Xaden Lockett
• Basses – Gram Coalier, Ethan Schaefferkoetter, Wesley Miner, Paul Reinert, Noah VanGundy

Members of Conservatory Singers are:

• Sopranos – Merideth Ash, Emily Millstead, Colleen Allen, Elizabeth Boyd, Madisyn Conway, Cecilia Rancatore, Makaila Irby, and Ruari Wells
• Altos – Richelle Milburn, Mariah Nichols, Emeline DeLapp, Harmony Andrews, Meckenzie Jones, and Ralyn Rampton
• Tenors – Justyn Daigle, Tyler Hershey, Matty Simons, Douglas Burchett, and Kyle Drews
• Basses – Thomas Beem, Landon Meyer, Gram Coalier, Che Gianquinto, Caleb Smith, Paul Reinert, and Matt Hamilton

In addition to the Sunday concert, an additional performance is scheduled for Saturday evening, as Professor Clark and his wife, Dr. Solee Lee-Clark, will perform “A Love Story for the Ages.” Featuring the music of Clara and Robert Schumann, the event will take place at 7 p.m. on September 28, in the Willie Mae Kountz Recital Hall.

“No other musical couple exemplifies the excitement and drama of the Romantic era like Clara and Robert Schumann,” said Lee-Clark. “No other couple did as much to influence and shape the music of the time.”

The recital’s carefully selected program will showcase some of Schumann’s most famous piano works and vocal pieces written by Robert as a wedding gift to Clara. Narration will weave the recital together as they share excerpts from letters of love written by the couple.

“The Schumanns’ music speaks to us in a timeless, universal language,” said Professor Clark. “Their romance is a love story for the ages, while Robert’s ongoing battle with depression and eventual descent into insanity makes their noble, life-affirming creations all the more remarkable.”