Spring Choirs Concert Set for May 2

The Fairmont State University Music Department presents the Collegiate Singers and Chamber Choir in concert on Tuesday, May 2. There is no admission charge for the performance, which begins at 8 p.m. in the Turley Center Ballroom.

The Chamber Choir opens the program with two German partsongs welcoming the sights and sounds of nature in springtime. After two short pieces by Hindemith, also on themes of nature, the Chamber Choir will sing love songs in English and French, including the oft-performed "Dirait-on" by California composer Morten Lauridsen.

"Missa Festiva," by John Leavitt, is the opening work by the Collegiate Singers. This setting of the Latin Mass was begun in 1988 with a commission for the Festival Sanctus, and then the other movements were gradually added until the mass was completed in the spring of 1991. The composer states that the work "combines lyrical melody, touches of counterpoint and an often brilliant piano accompaniment."

The Collegiate Singers join thousands of voices around the world this year to celebrate the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1756. Two hundred and fifty years later the majority of his compositions continue to be performed. This performance includes the beloved "Ave Verum Corpus," "Hostias" from the Requiem and "Dixit Dominus," a setting of Psalm 110. The closing portion of the program features lighter styles with secular songs from England, Poland, Venezuela and Canada.

The concert will be conducted by Jeffrey Poland, Director of Choral Activities, and accompanied by piano professor Mary Lynne Bennett.