BOONE—The Appalachian Chorale will present a free fall concert Tuesday, Dec.1, at 8 p.m. in Broyhill Music Center’s Rosen Concert Hall at Appalachian State University.

The choir will celebrate its 40th anniversary season with works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Purcell and Mozart.

The program begins with Vaughan Williams’ rousing “Antiphon” from his “Five Mystical Songs,” featuring Associate Professor of Organ Joby Bell.

In keeping with the anniversary theme, Henry Purcell’s “Ode for the Birthday of Queen Mary,” known as “Come Ye Sons of Art,” will follow. Written in 1694, this is the last of Purcell’s six birthday odes for the queen. Collegium Musicum, Appalachian’s early music ensemble directed by Dr. Alicia Chapman, will collaborate with the chorale for this performance with historically appropriate instruments played by student and faculty instrumentalists. Soloists will be faculty members Priscilla Porterfield and Mary Gayle Greene, mezzo-sopranos, and student singers Elizabeth Chapa, soprano, and Coburn Jones, bass.

Mozart’s “Missa Brevis in C, K. 220,” known as “Spatzenmesse” will follow the Purcell composition. This short, lively mass is nicknamed the “sparrow” mass because of a chirping violin figure in the Hosanna sections. Julia Pedigo, soprano, and Mary Gayle Greene, mezzo-soprano, will be joined by students Ethan Garner, tenor, and Coburn Jones, bass.

The chorale is inviting all singers to join them for their final piece on the concert, Mozart’s short, supremely beautiful “Ave Verum Corpus,” which is just 46 measures and four-minutes long. There will be a brief rehearsal of the composition in the concert hall at 7:15 p.m. followed by the concert at 8 p.m. Scores will be available at the rehearsal. They are also available as a free download at http://www3.cpdl.org/wiki/images/4/4d/K618_Ave_verum_VS_PML.pdf

Interested participants can get help learning their part at http://www.choralia.net/mz06mp3.

The Appalachian Chorale was founded in 1975 as the University Choral Society. The name was changed the following year to the Appalachian Chorale “to emphasize the regional outreach of the organization.” Then, as now, the chorale was open to any interested singer who can carry a part in four-part harmony and is dedicated in working for musical excellence.

The Fall 2015 chorale consists of 110 singers, including music majors, students from across campus, faculty and staff members, and members from the High Country community.

For more information, contact chorale director Linda Larson at [email protected].

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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