North Park University Choir, Chamber Singers to Tour Northern Illinois Oct. 19-21

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Oct 11, 2012, 03:03 ET

CHICAGO, Oct. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- North Park University's Chamber Singers and University Choir will perform in northern Illinois congregations in Naperville and Rockford, and at an Evangelical Covenant Church retirement community in Batavia, Ill., during their Fall 2012 tour. "A Choral Celebration" will feature performances of choral works by several international composers.

Performance dates and locations are:

Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m. Naperville Evangelical Covenant Church, Naperville, Ill.
Oct. 20, 11 a.m., The Holmstad Retirement Village, Batavia, Ill.
Oct. 20, 7 p.m., Second Congregational Church, Rockford, Ill.
Oct. 21, 9:30 a.m. (worship) Second Congregational Church
Oct. 21, 3 p.m., Bethesda Covenant Church, Rockford

"The performances include a wide variety of choral repertoire," said Dr. Julia Davids, University director of choral activities, and holder of the Stephen J. Hendrickson Endowed Chair in Music, School of Music. "If you're someone who has heard some choral music before, you will likely recognize some of the music to be performed during the tour."

The 14-member Chamber Singers will perform a capella "Suite de Lorca," a set of poetic pieces by Spanish poet Garcia Lorca, set to music by a Finnish composer, Einojuhani Rautavaara. The Chamber Singers will also perform works such as "If Ye Love Me," by English composer Thomas Tallis; "Ain't Got Time to Die," by American composer Hall Johnson; "Longing," by Matthew Emery, a young Canadian composer; and other compositions. Emery's piece is an unpublished composition that the Chamber Singers have been granted rights to perform, Davids said.

The 41-member University Choir will feature a performance of English composer John Rutter's "Te Deum." The choir will also perform compositions such as William Byrd's setting of Ave Verum Corpus, and a similar setting by Edward Elgar; "Keltic Song" by Canadian composer Allan Rae, and other compositions. University organist Margaret Martin is featured on some selections, Davids said.

During the tour, the University Choir and Davids will visit Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville Oct. 19 to lead a workshop and perform with the school's choral ensembles. In addition, Davids and the choir will present at the Illinois American Choral Directors Association convention in Naperville Oct. 20.

Additional details of the choir tour are at http://www.northpark.edu/News/Current-News/North-Park-University-Choir-Chamber-Singers-to-Tour-Northern-Illinois on the North Park website.

SOURCE North Park University