Press

The DePauw Chamber Singers, directed by Gregory Ristow, will join forces with VOCE, a semi-professional chamber ensemble from Indianapolis, in a concert in Kresge Auditorium at the Green Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, Nov. 4 at 3 p.m. The program will feature antiphonal works for double choir.

"Works for two choirs are always lots of fun because it gives us a chance to perform together with another experienced vocal group such as VOCE," said Ristow, director of choral activities at DePauw. The concert will begin and end with performances by the massed choirs. Each group will, in turn, also have an opportunity to perform short programs separately before the finale.

Included on the program will be an innovative new piece for mixed chorus, soprano, and marimba titled "A dome of many-coloured glass" by the young American composer Dominick DiOrio. This fall DiOrio joined the faculty at Indiana University's Jacob School of Music in Bloomington and has been on hand to personally guide the musicians in preparation for Sunday's performance of his work.

"There are almost no other pieces in the repertoire that are written for marimba and choir. It's a very unique sound," explained Ristow. "A neat juxtaposition of percussive sound, the timbre of which is almost the opposite sound of the human voice, paired with the choir. So it's an unusual work, and one that I think the audience will greatly enjoy." Two DePauw students, senior music education major Patrick Speranza and junior vocal performance major Emily Barnash, will perform the respective solo parts for marimba and voice.

A relatively new group on the scene, VOCE, conducted by Charles Goehring, performed recently to great acclaim at the Indiana Choral Directors Association convention. The 23-member ensemble represents some of the finest vocal talent in Indiana.

Ristow himself is also relatively new to the area, having joined the School of Music in the fall of 2011. "We are fortunate to have so many talented, hard-working singers at DePauw--singers who love to work together in ensemble," the conductor observed. "It's unusual in an undergraduate choir to have the level of confidence that the singers here have as performers. This is something that has been built up over the years," Ristow added. "I'm extremely lucky to have such great predecessors and wonderful colleagues and teachers on the voice faculty here."

General admission tickets to the choral concert are $3. All students and seniors over 65 are free.

For additional information or for assistance purchasing tickets call 658-4827, drop by the Green Center Box Office, located at 605 S. College Avenue, between noon--4 p.m. and 6--8 p.m., or visit www.depauw.edu/music/tickets.

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