STEPHENVILLE (February 17, 2016) — In preparation for their upcoming performance in New York City’s Carnegie Hall, Tarleton State University Choirs presents a public concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 29, in the Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center Theater.
The concert features several Tarleton choir ensembles, under the direction of Dr. Troy Robertson, and includes works by Mozart, Monteverdi and Se Enkhbayar, among others.
“‘Naiman Sharag’ is a Mongolian piece that features biphonation, singing two pitches at once, and ‘El Vito’ is a Spanish folk song based on the flamenco,” said Robertson. Joining the student vocalists are Tarleton vocal performance faculty Dr. Heather Hawk and Dr. Iwao Asakura.
In addition to Tarleton’s Chamber Choir, the Texan Gentlemen and Select Women’s Ensemble will perform.
“Our performance on Feb. 29 will be a test run for the students,” Robertson explained. “They will have a home field to try out memorization and staging, and deal with the pressure that comes with being in front of an audience. They can’t wait to see how it goes, and neither can I. We’ve been working very hard.”
Tickets are $5 or free with a valid Tarleton ID, and will be available at the Fine Arts Center Box Office one hour prior to the concert. All seating is general admission.
Tarleton’s Chamber Choir will perform an evening concert in Carnegie Hall on Easter Sunday, March 27, as part of the Gotham SINGS! Collegiate Choral Showcase, which includes the Iowa State Singers, the Southern Chorale from the University of Southern Mississippi and the New Mexico State University Singers. The concert will take place on Carnegie Hall’s famous Perelman Stage in Stern Auditorium—the same venue where Tarleton’s Wind Ensemble made its Carnegie Hall debut on April 23, 2014.
Tarleton’s choir received the invitation to Carnegie Hall last fall and will travel with 50 students, several music faculty and more than three dozen guests—including alumni and friends—to New York City for the Easter weekend performance. In addition, the university contingent will enjoy sightseeing in the Big Apple, with stops at the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the 9/11 Museum and Memorial and Empire State Building. The choir also will perform in the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine at 10 a.m. Monday, March 28.
The Carnegie Hall musical program includes works by Monteverdi, Mozart and Vaughan Williams, with solo performances by Tarleton voice professors Hawk and Asakura. Tarleton alumnus Jeremy Bowen (’13) will accompany the group and play piano for Mozart’s “Laudate Dominum” and Dr. Joni Jensen’s “El Vito,” a flamenco-inspired piece for female singers.
For more information about the trip, contact Dr. Troy Robertson, director of choirs, at robertson@tarleton.edu or 254-968-9240.
In addition to the preview concert on Feb. 29, two other concerts are planned during the spring semester.
On Saturday, April 2, the Cross Timbers Civic Chorale, University Singers, Chamber Choir and Percussion Ensemble presents American works, including Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms” under the direction of Tarleton Director of Athletic Bands Dr. Gary Westbrook, Dr. Robertson and guests Arielle Sword and Travis Lowery. The concert is free and take places at 7:30 p.m. in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church, Stephenville.
After they return from New York City, Tarleton’s choirs plan a final concert of the semester at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 19, in the Fine Arts Center Theater. It will feature Texas songs by the Texan Gentlemen, including “The Old Chisolm Trail” as well as a number of other pieces presented by the Select Women’s Ensemble and Chamber Choir. Tickets for the concert are $5 or free with Tarleton ID.
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