The UNLV Concert Singers and Chamber Chorale open their 2009-2010 concert season with "Freude! Ode to Joy!" on Tuesday, October 20 at 7:30 p.m. at Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall located on the northeast end of the university campus.
The performance includes over 70 singers in a variety of music that celebrates joyful living. Highlights include a sparkling chorus from Johann Strauss' waltz comedy "Die Fledermaus" as well as the rollicking first act finale from Gilbert & Sullivan's "HMS Pinafore." Featured soloists are soprano Elizabeth Rasmussen as Josephine, the captain's haughty daughter; tenor Joseph Nicosia as Ralph Rackstraw, a lovesick sailor; baritone Brian Myer as Dick Deadeye, the snarling villain; and soprano Pier Lamia Porter as Cousin Hebe, ringleader of a bevy of "sisters, cousins and aunts."
Acappella masterworks by Crist?bal de Morales, Francis Poulenc and Sergei Rachmaninoff portray the joyful colors inherent in sacred songs of praise and meditation. The featured trio in "The Heavens Are Telling" from Haydn's oratorio "The Creation" is soprano Daniella Toscano, tenor Emanuel Mojica and baritone Randy Hughes. American composers Samuel Barber, David Brunner and Z. Randall Stroope describe aspects of passionate living and loving in their compositions.
The Chamber Chorale continues a hallowed tradition of three decades in singing the English sonnet "Go, Lovely Rose", this time in a new musical setting by UNLV music major, Brian Myer composed specifically for the Chorale last spring.
The evening program also celebrates the range of individual vocal talent in the UNLV Department of Music. Solo arias will be performed by tenor Edwin Cotton and sopranos Christina Douglas, Isabella Ivy and Cecilia L?pez. All four students are pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees in vocal music performance.
Conductor David Weiller celebrates 26 years as director of choral studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Under his leadership the university choral ensembles enjoy a reputation for vibrant performances. The choirs recently were praised for a concert described as "...glorious, yet disciplined. The choruses performed with unaffected charisma." Annual tours have encompassed the southwestern United States as well as Hawaii, New York, Mexico, and Canada. Past highlights include holiday performances with the world-renowned Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra and participation in a massed choir performance in New York City's Carnegie Hall.
Tickets for "Freude! Ode to Joy!" may be purchased at the UNLV Performing Arts Center box office or by calling 895-ARTS. General admission is $10; senior citizens, military and UNLV faculty/staff tickets are $8. All students from the university and the Clark County School District receive 1 free ticket.
$10 General admission
$8 Seniors/Military/UNLV Faculty & Staff
UNLV & CCSD students receive 1 free ticket with valid student ID
