ARKADELPHIA, Ark.—Ouachita Singers will present their spring concert on April 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Mabee Fine Arts Center’s McBeth Recital Hall on the campus of Baptist University. The 50-voice choir is directed by Dr. Gary Gerber, OBU director of choral activities.
The program will be centered on the theme “i thank You God for…” which is based on the e. e. cummings poem “i thank You God for most this amazing day.”
“The program will focus on those attributes of God which He bestows on each of us,” Gerber said. “Normally we would program our music based on the music periods, moving from one period to the next. However, this concert will be divided by those attributes of life, such as Love, Praise, Freedom, Tribulations, Hope, Comfort and Laughter.”
One of the highlights of the program will be W. A. Mozart’s “Regina coeli.” Soloists for this selection include Leslyn Itcher, a junior choral music education major from Conway, Ark.; Maggie Taylor, a sophomore choral music education major from Russellville, Ark.; Michael Marsden, a senior music major from Paragould, Ark.; and Andrew Miller, a sophomore vocal performance major from Dalworthington Gardens, Texas.
Another special aspect of the program is the inclusion of a small chamber choir. The program will begin with a 16-voice ensemble. The chamber choir will sing three English Renaissance madrigals that speak of romance and lost love.
The program will conclude with the hilarious singing of “My Bonnie Lass She Smelleth” by the infamous P.D.Q. Bach. This work is a parody of the Renaissance work “My Bonnie Lass She Smileth” by Thomas Morley. Choreography for this selection was created by Cori Kidder, a senior musical theatre major from Wynne, Ark.
The accompanist for Ouachita Singers is Carrie Brown, a junior music performance major from Knoxville, Ark. Cindy Fuller, lecturer in music, will play organ on three selections, “Saul” by Egil Hovland, “Lass Dich Nur Nichts Nicht Dauren” by Johannes Brahms and an arrangement of “America, the Beautiful” by David Danner.
The program is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Dr. Gary Gerber at gerberg@obu.edu or (870) 245-5128.
