A List
4/24/06

'ENGLISH EVENSONG' SLATED BY SLU EARLY MUSIC GROUP

CANTON - The Early Music Singers of St. Lawrence University will present "An English Evensong" on Saturday, April 29, at 5 p.m. in Gunnison Memorial Chapel on campus. The event is open to the public, free of charge.

Performing sacred choral music from 16th- and 17th-century England in its original context, the 13 voices of the Early Music Singers, under the direction of Barry Torres, will present an evensong service in the authentic setting of Gunnison Memorial Chapel. Joining the singers will be organist Sondra Goldsmith Proctor.

Music performed will include psalm settings by Thomas Tallis, including the anthem "Blessed are those that be undefiled"; the anonymous 16th-century anthem "Rejoice in the Lord Alway"; Magnificat and Nunc dimittis from the "Great Service in B minor" by Henry Purcell; Orlando Gibbon's anthem "Hosanna to the Son of David"; and chants appropriate for evensong.

Proctor, a resident of Canton, is a well known and respected organist and choral conductor in the eastern United States and especially in the Washington, D.C., area, where she was director of music and arts/organist for the Westmoreland Congregational United Church of Christ for many years. She has played recitals in venues throughout the United States and Europe, including the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where she was the first woman to present a full-length organ recital. Proctor is also founder and director of Circle Singers, a chamber choir now beginning its 24th season. She has directed numerous church choirs and had a long association with The Paul Hill Chorale and the Washington Singers, based at the Kennedy Center. Proctor was also the first woman to conduct a concert on the stage of the Concert Hall of the Kennedy Center.

For more information, contact the music department at 315-229-5192.

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