W&L Fall Choral Concert Takes A Musical Journey
The Lexington choral season will kick off with the choirs at Washington and Lee in the Fall Choral Concert on Oct. 23 at 8 p.m. in Wilson Concert Hall.
The concert will feature the Washington and Lee University Singers, Cantatrici, the treble choir, and the W&L Glee Club, under the direction of Dr. Shane M. Lynch and professor Lacey R. Lynch, assisted by members of the signature Morgan E. Luttig ’14 Choral Conducting Mentorship Program.
Audience members will delight in a musical journey ranging from songs of the sea to works about the genius of Leonardo da Vinci. Tickets are free, but required, and are available at the Lenfest box office.
The concert opens with the members of Glee Club singing two energetic songs of the sea, including Peter Schickele’s epic “Jonah’s Song” from the texts of “Moby-Dick.” Cantatrici follows with two works by modern American composers Elaine Hagenberg and David N. Childs.
The two choirs then combine for several spirited works, including Canadian composer Jonathan Quick’s fun arrangement of the classic “Loch Lomond.” Closing out the first half will be Craig Hella Johnson’s touching setting of Dolly Parton’s “Light of a Clear Blue Morning,” honoring Parton’s place as an avatar for American music seen more clearly with her recent death.
The University Singers will then take the stage following a brief pause. The University Singers, the premiere choral ensemble at Washington and Lee University, continues to be recognized as one of the finest a cappella choirs in the region. They have been honored for their excellence in performance by the American Choral Directors Association, the Virginia Music Educators Association, and in featured solo choir programs at major venues such as Carnegie Hall, the National Cathedral, and the Academy of Music.
As an internationally competitive choir, the University Singers have received numerous festival/competition invitations, placements, and awards, and will represent the United States as one of 10 international choirs at the Jeju International Choir Festival in Seogwipo, South Korea, in February.
The University Singers’ half of the program will open with Eric Whitacre’s awardwinning composition “Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine.” This nine-minute a cappella work explores the life and brilliance of Leonardo da Vinci and his obsession with attempting to master human flight. Using a libretto that combines original text by Charles Anthony Silvestry with notes from Leonardo’s own surviving writings, this challenging work is one of the masterpieces of 21st century American choral composition that does not get many performances due to the difficulty.
The concert will then shift to previews of the upcoming travel to South Korea, with the modern Korean composition “Open the East Gate!” and the Appalachian classic “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?”
The University Singers will sing additional audience favorites, including Paul J. Christiansen’s tender setting of “The King of Love” before the concert closes with W&L’s traditional favorite, “Shenandoah.”
