SC Choirs Concert

Tuesday, December 10th at 7pm in Kinnison Hall at the Whitney Center for the Arts.

Free.

The concert, directed by SC Choirs and Vocal Studies Professor Dr. Robert Psurny, will include a cappella and accompanied works for choir from the Renaissance era to the present. The Collegiate Chorale will open the concert with a sacred motet by Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, filled with rhythmic activity as it imitates the text by “praising God with psaltery and harp.”

In honor of celebrating composer Anton Bruckner’s 200th birthday, the group will present two of his best-known motets and his “Christus factus est”. This will showcase rich text painting with vocal lines ascending higher to reflect the exaltation of Christ. The remainder of the concert will feature more modern works by American and British composers. According to Psurny, “Canticle of Praise” by John Ness Beck paints a rich tapestry of praise, while John Rutter’s carol “Love Came Down at Christmas” sets a text by Christina Rosetti to a simple yet beautiful choral accompaniment.

The SC Chamber Choir will join the Collegiate Chorale for the featured piece on the concert, “Missa Festiva” by John Leavitt. Composed between 1988 and 1991, Leavitte once noted that his piece uses time-honored mass texts not for liturgical use, but as “a vehicle for excellent choral singing,” blending medieval chant melodies with modern harmony, rhythm, and meter. The work will also feature piano accompaniment by SC Piano Instructor Loretta Tonak.

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