Massed choirs perform Beethoven classic
Nov. 4, 2000
KALAMAZOO -- Western Michigan University's Collegiate Singers will join with choirs from Kalamazoo College and from Portage (Mich.) Central and Portage Northern high schools to present Ludwig van Beethoven's choral masterwork, the Mass in C Major, Opus 86.
The concert is Monday, Nov. 20, beginning at 8 p.m. at Kalamazoo's Cathedral Church of Christ the King. The Episcopal cathedral is located at 2600 Vincent Avenue, just north of the Oakland Drive exit of I-94. Admission is free.
The performance will feature more than 150 singers and WMU student soloists Susan Musselman (soprano), Sarah Boruta (mezzo-soprano), Bradley Erbes (tenor), and Aaron Wardell (bass). Accompanying the ensemble will be honors string students from the Portage High Schools Orchestra.
The program's first half will feature the Collegiate Singers performing works by Javier Busto (Ave Maris Stella), John Tavener (A Hymn to the Mother of God), and G.F. Handel (Zadok the Priest). Dr. Joe Miller, WMU's director of choral studies, will conduct both the Collegiate Singers and the combined ensembles.
Cynthia Borik is director of the Portage Central High School choirs, and Catherine Walker Adams directs the ensembles from Portage Northern and Kalamazoo College. The Portage string students have been prepared by Mary Hinderliter and Courtney Snyder.
Media contact: Kevin West; 616 387-4678; kevin.west@wmich.edu