(Riverton, Wyo,) – The Central Wyoming College music department will present a fall concert on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 7pm in the Robert A. Peck Arts Center Theater. The concert will feature the collegiate chorale, under the direction of Sharon Dalton and college band, under the direction of Sarah Trembly. The concert is free and open to the public.
The Collegiate Chorale opens the concert with a performance of René Clausen’s “All That Hath Life & Breath Praise Ye the Lord.” The biblical text for this classic work is adapted from Psalms 96 and 22. The choir’s second piece “The Glory of the Father” by Egil Hovland, who was one of Norway’s most productive contemporary composers and probably the one whose works are most frequently performed. Next in the program is David L. Brunner’s “Yo Le Canto Todo El Dia,” a piece whose infectious rhythms and playful melodies are meant to capture the vitality and charm of the Venezuelan region. The choir continues with “Homage” by Z. Randall Stroope.
Anyone who has lost someone special in their lives will be touched by the beautiful melody, harmony, and text of this magnificent piece. ”– Sharon Dalton
The piece was commissioned by the Cypress Lake Center for the Arts, Vocal Department, to honor the memory of the three fathers that passed away during a six-week span in the fall of 2007. Dr. Stroope made the piece even more special by using text from his own father who had lost both of his parents when he was a small child. The Georgia Sea Islands melody and text of “Yonder Come Day,” arranged by Paul John Rudoi, celebrate the African-American slave ancestry of the Gullah people and culture and will be the finale for the chorale portion of the concert.
The college band will open with “Commando March” by Samuel Barber, a unique march from an American composer. The second piece will be a beautiful, lyric piece from the Romantic era entitled “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair” by Claude Debussy. One of the band’s feature pieces will be the theme from “The Cowboys,” originally scored by John Williams, an Oscar winning composer who also scored Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Harry Potter. The band will continue with Edward Elgar’s “Nimrod” and finish with Gustav Holst’s First Suite in Eb.
“The suite is one of the first class wind band literature pieces,” Trembly said. “Wind band literature in a relatively new genre in the classical world, and Holst helped set the standard for wind band composition. It is a piece that we’ve played before, and it’s still one of our favorites. We are sure the audience will love it too.”