News release Public Information Office  SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu Spring 2004 news releases Public Information home News archive Contact: Christina Chapple Date: 11/2/04   SOUTHEASTERN CHORAL CONCERT TO FEATURE WORLD PREMIERE       HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University’s Concert Choir and Women’s Chorale will present their fall concert, “Canzoni d’amore (Songs of Love),” Nov. 17 at the First United Methodist Church, 2200 Rue Denise, in Hammond.           The free 7:30 p.m. concert will feature the Concert Choir’s world premiere of Theodore Morrison’s “Canzoni d’amore,” said Alissa Mercurio Rowe, director of Southeastern choral activities.    Rowe said Morrison’s rhapsodic piece, a setting of two of Michelangelo’s love sonnets, consists of two movements for five-part choir, two French horns and piano.         “The composer will attend the concert to hear the first performance of his exquisite piece of choral music,” she said.       “When we hear the great name Michelangelo, we think of his magnificent frescos on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, his exquisite David, or his famous statement that a sculpture already exists within a piece of marble and it is the artist’s task simply to free it,” said Rowe. “But who among us remembers first that the master penned more than 300 poems which contain some of the noblest passages in world literature?”        Along with Morrison’s work, Rowe said the Concert Choir will continue the concert’s love song theme with two madrigals, “Weep o mine eyes” and “Fire, fire my heart” by John Bennet and Thomas Morley. Their program also will include sacred works by living composers Trond Kverno and Arvo Pärt and Johannes Brahams’ “Der Abend” and “Der Gang zum Liebchen.”       The Women’s Chorale will open the concert with a rousing Hungarian folksong, a sacred selection from Canadian composer Eleanor Daley and a scene from W.A. Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)” presented in English.        “The women will end their half of the concert with a thrilling new piece entitled ‘Sisters’ by Gwyneth Walker,” Rowe said. “In this selection the women remind each other of the secrets and experiences shared between best friends and sisters.”          Rowe said Theodore Morrison began his professional performing career at the age of 19 as organist-choirmaster at Baltimore's Cathedral of the Incarnation, a post he held for ten years. In 1967 he founded the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, which under his direction became one of the most successful community choral ensembles in the United States. During his 16 seasons with the society he frequently guest conducted the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and collaborated with the Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and Baltimore's Pro Musica Rara.       As a member of the faculty of the University of Michigan School of Music for 18 years, Morrison has served as both director of choirs and director of graduate studies in conducting. He will leave the University of Michigan in the spring of 2005 to devote his full-time work to composition.      Morrison’s music includes several large works for chorus, soloists and orchestra including a 50-minute symphony, “War and Reconciliation,” on American Civil War poems by Walt Whitman. His music has been presented by ensembles such as the Choral Arts Society of Washington in the Kennedy Center and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. His shorter choral pieces have had scores of performances by choirs throughout North America and on international tours.      A CD of Morrison's organ and choral works was released on the Equilibrium label in December 2002. His most recent song cycle, “Chamber Music,” on poems by James Joyce, was commissioned by countertenor David Daniels and premiered on an 11-city American tour in 2002 ending with an acclaimed performance in Carnegie Hall.        For additional information about the Nov. 17 concert, contact the Southeastern choral office at 985-549-2334.