News release Public Information Office   SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu     www.selu.edu/news Contact: Christina Chapple Date: 11/7/03   SOUTHEASTERN OPERA/MUSIC THEATRE WORKSHOP TO STAGE COPLAND’S “THE TENDER LAND” IN 2004       HAMMOND -- The Southeastern Louisiana University Opera/Music Theatre Workshop has chosen Aaron Copland’s opera “The Tender Land” as its first production of 2004.       At the helm of the February 11-14 production will be guest director Wendy Taucher, who directed and choreographed Southeastern’s summer musicals “Annie” and “Oliver.” Southeastern faculty and staff on the production team are Charles Effler, conductor and vocal coach; Steve Schepker, set design; Richard Walsh, costume design, and Ellen Sovkoplas, lighting design. Southeastern’s Concert Choir will serve as the chorus under the direction of Alissa Mercurio Rowe.       Effler, director of the Opera/Music Theatre Workshop, said “The Tender Land” is the only full-length opera by Copland, who is known as the “dean of American composers.”       “‘The Tender Land’ was originally conceived for television, but later adapted and expanded for the stage,” Effler said. “Copland wrote the music in the style he had used so successfully for his earlier ballets, ‘Appalachian Spring,’ ‘Rodeo,’ and ‘Billy the Kid.’”       The ballets made Copland a household name among musicians, dancers, critics and the public. Copland recast the scores of the ballets, as well as the score of “The Tender Land,” into orchestral suites that have become staples of the symphonic concert hall.       In addition to current Southeastern music students, the cast of “The Tender Land” will include three alumni, Kenya Lawrence of Hammond, Tyler Smith of Baton Rouge, and Duane Black of Pride.        Lawrence, a 1999 graduate, completed her master of music degree at Southern Methodist  University in Dallas, and is currently living in Hammond, where she teaches and studies voice and is preparing for a career as a professional opera singer. Smith, who graduated in 1998, is completing his doctoral degree in vocal performance at the University of Houston, and is also preparing for a professional musical career. Black, an investigator for the Louisiana District Attorney’s office, was a Southeastern music major in the late 1980s and performed in a 1989 Opera/Music Theatre Workshop production of “The Tender Land.”       Lawrence will share the role of “Laurie” with Jacquie Brecheen of Ponchatoula. Black has the role of “Grandpa Moss,” and Smith has been cast as “Martin.”       The cast also includes Amanda Tarver, Prairieville, “Ma Moss”; Brandon Richardson, Abita Springs, “Top”; Cameron Bishop, Oak Grove, and Marshall Dean, Denham Springs, “Mr. Splinters”; Patricia Ramirez, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, “Mrs. Splinters”; Jessica Davis, Hammond, and Emily Stokes, Covington, “Beth”;  Darell Haynes, Hahnville, “Mr. Jenks”; Wendy Kinchen, Ponchatoula, “Mrs. Jenks”; Simon Pfeil, Hammond, “Daniel”; and Sarah Osterberger, Baton Rouge, “Guest at Party.”       Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. in the Pottle Music Building Auditorium. Tickets, which will be available at the door, are $12, adults; $8, senior citizens, Southeastern faculty, staff and alumni, and non-Southeastern students. Southeastern students are admitted free with their university I.D.       Southeastern's production of "The Tender Land" is made possible in part by the support of John and Sam Evans of Community Motors, Hammond, and Dan and Michelle Aycock of Micro-Tel, Inc., Ponchatoula.       For additional information on the production, contact Effler at 985-549-2249. Return to News Releases