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: 11/24/03   SOUTHEASTERN CHOIRS, NORTHSHORE CHORALE CONCERT DEC. 2       HAMMOND -- A pair of Southeastern Louisiana University choirs will join voices with the community singers of the Northshore Chorale at 7:30 p.m., December 2, at Hammond’s First Baptist Church.       Alissa Rowe, director of choral activities at Southeastern, will conduct the Northshore  Chorale, University Chorus, and Concert Choir in a free concert titled “Testament of Freedom.” The choirs will be accompanied by pianists Cheryl Brothers and Charles Effler.       The Northshore Chorale and University Chorus are non-auditioned ensembles comprised of university students and community members. The Concert Choir is Southeastern’s premier choral ensemble.       The concert will open with the University Chorus and Northshore Chorale’s performance of the United State’s unofficial national anthem, Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America.” The choirs also will perform the traditional Scottish folk song “Auld Lang Syne” and “The God Who Gave Us Life” from Randall Thompson’s “The Testament of Freedom.”       “The Testament of Freedom’ was composed in 1943 in honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Jefferson,” Rowe said. “Thompson chose the text from Jefferson’s writings.”       The Concert Choir will be spotlighted next, also singing a work by Thompson, “Frostiana,” which utilizes the poetry of Robert Frost. The choir also will perform C.V. Stanford’s “The Blue Bird,” and two songs from John Rutter’s chorale cycle of folk songs, “The Sprig of Thyme.” The choirs’ “I’m Gonna Sing ‘till the Spirit Moves in My Heart” by Moses Hogan will feature soprano soloists Jessica Davis of Ponchatoula and Emily Stokes of Covington and tenors Brian Martinez of Destrehan and Kevin Messer of Baton Rouge.       In the second half of the program, the University Chorus and Northshore Chorale will perform a variety of works with holiday themes, including Mozart’s “Ave Verum Corpus”; “Rejoice, Earth and Heaven” by 17th century composer Dietrch Buxtehude; and carols from England (“God Rest You Merry Gentlemen”), Austria (“Still, Still, Still”), and Spain (“Fum, Fum, Fum”).       The choirs will perform two folk songs from Africa, the Taita song “Natufurahi siku ya leo” featuring Brian Martinez on conga and maracas, and “Betelehemu” with soloists Jeffery Hart of Terry, Miss., and Daniel Holmes and Michael Rickenbaker of Hammond.       The First Baptist Church is located at 401 W. Morris. For additional information about the concert, contact Rowe at 985-549-2334 or arowe@selu.edu. Return to News Releases