|
A List
3/13/06
LAURENTIAN SINGERS TOUR EUROPE IN 60TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON
CANTON - The Laurentian Singers of St. Lawrence University will tour and give performances
in Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland in March, in celebration of the group's 60th
anniversary season. The tour takes place during spring break.
Performances will take place in Leipzig, Germany (March 18 through 20); Prague,
Czech Republic (March 20 through 22) and Krakow, Poland (March 23 through 25).
Following the tour, they will perform a home concert, on Saturday, April 1, at 8 p.m.
in Gunnison Memorial Chapel on campus. The concert is open to the public, free of charge.
For this special tour, the Laurentian Singers will perform the V prírode (Five Songs of
Nature), Op. 63 of Antonín Dvorák, sung in Czech; German motets by J.S. Bach's older cousin
Johann Christoph Bach, Dietrich Buxtehude and Johannes Brahms; the motet Parce Domine by
Polish composer Felix Nowowiejski; an arrangement of the hymn "Amazing Grace" by current
Director Barry Torres; and some American popular songs, such as "Blue Moon," "Autumn Leaves"
and "Good Vibrations."
In addition, pieces that have importance in the history of the Laurentian Singers will be
performed, including "Ye Shall Have a Song," from Randall Thompson's A Peaceable Kingdom;
and "Coffee Grows on White Oak Trees" and "St. Louis Blues," both with arrangements by
former director J.R. Gilbert.
The Laurentian Singers have won wide acclaim since the ensemble was founded in 1946. In
addition to their many performances on campus and in the community, the 36-voice ensemble
has toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Central and South
America, and the former Soviet Union. In 2004, the Laurentians returned to Puerto Rico,
singing for enthusiastic audiences and meeting choirs across the island. Their tour
destination in 2005 was southern Louisiana, including New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The
group's wide-ranging repertoire, drawn from musics of many styles and countries, reflects
the spirit of the liberal arts experience at St. Lawrence University. The choir is
composed of undergraduate students with diverse backgrounds who represent a wide
variety of academic majors and interests.
-30-
Music at St. Lawrence University
|
