Choirs, Alumni Soloists to Sing in Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Three Oregon State University choirs will give a concert at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, May 12. The OSU Chamber Choir, directed by Steven Zielke; Bella Voce, directed by Tina Bull; and the OSU Meistersingers, directed by Russell Christensen, will participate in the performance, which takes place at 5 p.m. in Alice Tully Hall.
In the first half, the three choirs will together perform Ralph Vaughan Williams’ epic work, “Dona Nobis Pacem” with orchestra accompaniment and featuring two OSU alumni soloists: Mari Stoner, soprano, a 2011 graduate in vocal performance; and Nickoli Strommer, baritone, a 2010 graduate in vocal performance. Stoner, a native of Corvallis, Ore., is currently a second year master’s degree student studying opera performance in the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin. Strommer, a native of Baker City, Ore., recently completed the Master of Music degree at the Manhattan School of Music and is currently studying at Boston University’s Opera Institute.
Written in 1936, as he observed Germany preparing for war, Vaughan William’s “Dona Nobis Pacem” features the Civil War poetry of Walt Whitman and is uniquely both American and English, with the quintessential 20th century English composer setting the words of one of America’s most beloved poets. This performance will feature a groundbreaking and innovative multi-media creation of Oregon State music technology professor, Kevin Patton, providing the audience with an unforgettable experience of sight and sound.
In the second half of the concert, the choirs will each perform individually. There will also be a special guest performance by OSU alumnus Roosevelt Credit, baritone. Credit holds a Bachelor of Science in music education from Oregon State University, a Master of Music in voice and opera performance and a Master of Music in conducting from Northwestern University. He has appeared in on Broadway in the Tony Award winning productions of “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” and Harold Prince’s revival of “Show Boat,” and has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center.
Following the performance, the Oregon State University Alumni Association is hosting a reception in Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center that will feature guest performances in addition to food and beverages. The Alumni Association is also offering lodging and flight packages. For information, go to Oregon State University Alumni Association.
In addition to performing at the Lincoln Center, the choirs will give a free public concert on Friday, May 10, at 8 p.m. at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle, 405 W. 59th Street. The singers will have Saturday free to take in the sights of the Big Apple.
The tour, part of the National Festival of the States, is being coordinated by the School of Arts & Communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Music Celebrations International.
For additional information on the tour and concerts, go to: Music Celebrations International: Oregon State University Tour .