Department of Music
SOU Chamber Choir's Abendmusik to Raise Money for International Tour.
11/15/2008
(Ashland, Ore.) – The Southern Oregon University (SOU) Chamber Choir has been selected to perform a series of concerts in Germany and the Czech Republic during spring break 2009. Highlights of the tour include a performance at the home church of J.S. Bach (Thomaskirche in Leipzig, Germany) and an invitation to perform at the International Festival of Choristers in Usti nad Labem outside Prague.
The performance at Thomaskirche will take place March 22, 2009, the Sunday night of Bach’s birthday weekend—and a highly desired concert time. According to Erin Harlan, Chamber Choir’s U.S.-based tour agent, the Thomaskirche concert selection committee was “very impressed with Chamber Choir’s audition tape and materials. They are always highly selective as to whom they invite to perform there, and to be awarded the Sunday evening performance of Bach’s birthday weekend is a real prize. This is a very big deal.”
The performance at the International Festival of Choristers is also quite an honor. “The festival will feature top-level choirs from Europe and around the world,” said Harlan. “This will be a great opportunity for both musical and cultural exchange.”
Other concerts on the tour include an evening concert at Pauluskirche, Berlin, (on Bach’s actual birthday) and a concert at Festssal Concert Hall in Leipzig. Chamber Choir’s director and SOU Professor of Music Paul French, DMA, says he and the group are already working hard on the tour program, which will include great music from the Renaissance and two commissioned works to be written especially for the tour. French says he is “thrilled to be able to assist in providing this kind of once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to SOU students. The group and I are both humbled and proud to be selected for these prestigious venues, and we will do our best to represent our region well.”
French is especially excited about the Thomaskirche performance. “To be able to sing in Bach’s church—the very place where he worked and is buried—is both exciting and a bit scary,” French said. “But this is just the kind of mountain-top experience that university students should have during their academic careers. I hope the entire region feels proud of our students’ accomplishments and will support them by attending Department of Music concerts.”
Funding for the trip is nearly complete due to strong institutional support, particularly from the SOU student government. To complete funding for the tour, the Department of Music has scheduled several fundraiser concerts. The first concert, Abendmusik (evening music), is an hour-long recital of art song and operatic masterpieces on November 15 at 8 pm in the SOU Music Recital Hall. Twelve talented singers from the Department of Music will perform some of the most beautiful vocal music ever composed, accompanied by SOU opera coach Laurie Hunter. All proceeds from this concert and other Chamber Choir performances this year will go toward tour expenses.
Tickets for the above performance are $10 for general admission and free for students. Tickets and season passes may be purchased by calling 541-552-6101 or at the Department of Music prior to the performance. For more information call the Department of Music at 552-6101 or visit the department website at sou.edu/music.
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