On October 18, the Ouachita Singers will not only perform a concert for free at 7 p.m., but they will also release a CD, titled “City Called Heaven,” to fund their upcoming tour.
This spring, the Singers are getting the chance to tour Italy. They will be performing in many places, including the Sistine Chapel.
At the concert, the audience will get a sneak peak of what Italians will hear from the Singers over spring break. The repertoire will include many classical pieces, but also some spirituals.
“In the past when I’ve gone, the Italians love American Spirituals,” said Dr. Gary Gerber, dean of Fine arts.
Along with the spirituals, there will be renaissance pieces. In some venues in Italy, pianos may be unavailable, and so the Singers will perform all of their songs a cappella.
Not only will the audience be able to hear the current Singers, they will also have the opportunity to buy a new CD of past Singers to support the Italy trip.
“I had a donor fund the [CD] project, so all the proceeds from the CD sales will go towards the Italy tour. So that’s the cool part about that. It won’t cost us anything to produce it, but we get the proceeds from it to help them [the Singers] go to Italy,” Gerber said.
Students in Singers are also very grateful for this.
“I think it is wonderful that they give us the opportunity to sell those CD’s as a fundraiser! And honestly, even if you don’t consider yourself a big fan of choral music, I think anyone can enjoy this. It is really professional and has some beautiful pieces on it,” said Bethany Courtney, a freshman in Singers.
While Courtney is excited for the upcoming concert, she is ecstatic about the Italy trip.
“This is going to be a once in a lifetime experience! To do what I love most in such an amazing place full of beauty and music. I’ve never been out of the country before, and we are getting to sing in the Sistine Chapel and in St. Peter’s Basilica,” Courtney said.
Courtney is strongly encouraging fellow students to come to the concert.
“We’ve got several surprising pieces up our sleeves that I think everyone will really love, so I really hope everyone comes,” Courtney said.
According to Dr. Gerber, one of the ten songs the Singers are performing at the concert doesn’t even have words. Along with the Singers, Ouachita’s Women’s Chorus, directed by Dr. Becky Morrison, will also be performing.
The first half of the concert will feature the Women’s Chorus, while the second half of the concert will feature the Ouachita Singers, directed by Dr. Gary Gerber.
Pieces to be performed by Women’s Chorus include: Z. Randall Stroope’s “Dies Irae,” Andrea Ramsey’s “Jesu,” Dan Forrest’s “And Can It Be?,” Charles H. Gabriel’s “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” and “When He Is Silent” by Kim André Arnesen. Pieces to be performed by Singers include: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina’s “Sicut cervus,” the traditional South African freedom song “Tshotsholoza,” the traditional spiritual song “Great God Almighty,” Tomás Luis de Victoria’s “Ave Maria,” Ludovico da Viadana’s “Exsultate Justi,” Richard Farrant’s “Lord, for Thy Tender Mercy’s Sake,” Jake Runestad’s “Nyon, Nyon” and Eriks Esenvalds’ “Only in Sleep.”
The concert will take place in Mabee Fine Arts Center’s McBeth Recital Hall on Ouachita’s campus. The concert will be free and open to the public, and the two groups’ “City Called Heaven” CD will be available for purchase for $15. For more information on the concert or the upcoming Singers trip, contact Dr. Gary Gerber at gerberg@obu.edu.
By Ethan Dial, Staff Writer
