MANSFIELD, PA – Community singers from high school age through senior citizens are invited to sing in the Mansfield University Festival Chorus under the direction of Peggy Dettwiler for the spring semester. The performances will be held on April 4 at 7:30 pm and April 5 at 2:30.
The Chorus meets on Tuesday evenings in Steadman Theatre from 7 to 9 pm. Participation in the rehearsals and performances is open to all persons at the university and area high school students and community singers. Singers only need to vocalize for placement in the soprano, alto, tenor, or bass sections. Sectional rehearsals will take place on Wednesdays from 4:30 to 5:20 pm. Volunteer members are encouraged, but not required, to participate in sectional rehearsals.
The chorus will prepare two major works, Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day by George Frideric Handel and Handel’s Chandos Anthem No. 4, “Sing unto the Lord” (Psalm 96) to comprise a 60-minute concert in praise of music. St. Cecilia, known as the patron saint of music, has been venerated since the 16th century, and the Cecilian ode became an established form of English composition, particularly between 1600 and 1800. Handel’s Ode is based upon a poem by John Dryden, which describes the history of the world from its creation in primeval chaos to its anticipated end in the resurrection. The orchestra includes all of the instruments mentioned in Dryden’s poem. The Chandos Anthem is one of twelve anthems Handel wrote between 1717 and 1720 for an English nobleman. It is a delightful work featuring soprano and tenor soloists Catherine Robison and Jordan Schreiner.
The Festival Chorus is a mixed chorus of about seventy voices, which is open to all university students as well as community singers. Large-scale performances with orchestra and professional soloists have included Handel’s Messiah, Orff ‘s Carmina Burana, Haydn’s Creation and Mass in Time of War, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Bach’s Mass in B Minor, and the Requiems by Brahms, Fauré, Mozart, Rutter, and Verdi. The Festival Chorus has produced numerous CDs and cassette recordings.
Music will be provided at the first rehearsal. No purchase necessary! For more information, call Peggy Dettwiler at 570-662-4721 or write to pdettwil@mansfield.edu