Special News
Centenary College Choir joins with First United Methodist Church Chamber Choir to present Mozart's Grand Mass in C Minor.
The Centenary College Choir is teaming up with the First United Methodist Church Chamber Choir to present one of the great choral masterworks: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Grand Mass in C Minor. Conceived on the scope of such works like Bach’s B Minor Mass, the composition is significant as Mozart wrote it for personal reasons rather than commission, offering a glimpse of the full breadth of the composer’s unbridled creativity. Influenced by the style of Bach and Handel, the work succeeds as a magnificent fusion of Baroque counterpoint and Mozart’s own lyric operatic style. Simply stated, it is a musical tour de force, not often heard due to its tremendous technical demands.
The performance was in the Sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church of Shreveport on Sunday, April 14, at 3 pm under the direction of Dr. David Hobson. The combined chorus was accompanied by full orchestra. Featured soloists were Centenary Alumna Lori Lusted and three faculty members from the Hurley School of Music: Dr. Gale Odom, Dr. Horace English, and Mr. Cory Wikan.
CENTENARY CHOIR EASTER SUNRISE SERVICE AT HODGES GARDENS
The Centenary College Choir will join local community choirs on Easter for a special sunrise service beginning 6 a.m. at Hodges Gardens State Park on the Lakefront Stage.
The tradition of this annual event extends back to the beginnings of Hodges Gardens, which was founded in the 1950s. Set against the beautiful backdrop of the gardens and lake, the outdoor service is a moving experience that describes Christ's passion and resurrection in music and dramatic readings.
The music contains great anthems from masterworks of Handel and Dubois as well as other hymns and sacred selections. It is one of the most unique and powerful programs the Choir offers annually. Centenary seniors Stephanie Boyd will play Mary, Donnovan Roe will serve as narrator, and Chelsi Hefner will be a featured soloist.
Those wishing to attend the service should plan to arrive at the Gardens no later than 5:45 a.m., as no one can be admitted after this time. The gates open at 4:30 a.m.
Hodges Gardens State Park has more than 700 acres of wild and cultivated beauty. The park is located approximately14 miles south of Many.
Centenary Choir embarks on first tour of the new year
The Centenary College Choir, "America's Singing Ambassadors," will tour United Methodist congregations in early January. This weekend tour is just one of many for the Choir, which will end its season in Italy this year. The current leg will take them from Arkansas to Tennessee to Mississippi:
Jan. 3: Sardis UMC, Sardis, AR 7:00pm
Jan. 4: Bartlett UMC, Memphis, TN 7:00pm
Jan. 5: Madison UMC, Madison, MS 6:30pm
Jan. 6: Madison UMC, 8:30 & 10:45am services
Jan. 6: Trinity UMC, Ruston, LA 4:30pm
Centenary College Choir Christmas special airs Dec. 23-25
The Centenary College Choir's annual Christmas Concert aired on KTBS, the local ABC affiliate, this past December. This year's program was filmed at Hamilton Hall and sponsored by the Willis-Knighton Health System.
"The Christmas program is one of the College’s greatest traditions," said Dr. David Hobson, Centenary's A.C. "Cheesy" Voran Choir Director. "This is a gift we are pleased to offer to the community during the holiday season. The musical selections reflect a great mix of the sacred spirit of Christmas with the familiar holiday songs that never go out of style from generation to generation."
The concert aired three times between December 23 and December 25.
Centenary College Choir presents "Rhapsody in View"
Saturday, November 3, 2012, 7:30pm
Sunday, November 4, 2012, 2:30pm
Riverview Theatre, Shreveport, LA
Hailed as “America’s Singing Ambassadors” by the press, the Centenary College Choir has traveled the world for seven decades, constantly exploring new and productive avenues in the world of collegiate choral music. This innovative spirit has been evidenced in the Choir’s unique and diverse manner of programming, a repertoire that ranges from Bach to Broadway, world folk music to contemporary church music, and oratorio to opera. The Choir seeks to engage audiences not only through an eclectic repertoire, but also through emotional, heart-felt music making.
Thus, Rhapsody in View is the quintessential concert given by the Choir for its hometown, an annual tradition dating back to 1949. This year’s program offers a musical journey that parallels the human life, presenting a thoughtful collection of lullabies, love songs, and memorial selections that point to life eternal, a thematic progression encapsulated in the Daniel Gawthrop’s Sing Me to Heaven. The profound words of poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning and hymn writer Charles Wesley shine respectively in Eric Nelson’s How Do I Love Thee and Mack Wilberg’s soaring Love Divine, all Loves Excelling. Peter Louis van Dijk’s profound West African lullaby, Horizons, and Jeffery Ames’ In Remembrance explore the connections of birth and death. In addition to these pieces, the Choir will also offer rousing spirituals such as Moses Hogan’s Ride on King Jesus, Shawn Kirchner’s Wana Baraka, and Byron Smith’s Worthy to Be Praised, as well as a touch of Broadway with the celebrated music of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s tragic love story, The Phantom of the Opera.
Co-sponsored by the Downtown Lions Club, proceeds from the concert support projects such as sight conservation, Lions Eye Research Foundation, the Northwest Louisiana Lions Eye Bank, and the Lions Camp near Leesville, Louisiana.
Choir tours East Texas October 20-21
The Centenary College Choir will tour east Texas from October 20-21. This weekend tour is just one among many for the Choir, who will visit Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Italy this year. The current leg of the Choir tour will feature performances at area churches:
• October 20: Acton United Methodist Church, Granbury
• October 21: First United Methodist Church, Fort Worth
• October 21: Lovers Lane United Methodist Church, Dallas
How Can I Keep From Singing: A Festival Worship Service
October 7, 3:00pm at First United Methodist Church, Shreveport
Centenary College Choir and Camerata will be featured in First United Methodist Church of Shreveport’s How Can I Keep from Singing: A Festival Worship Service, Sunday, Oct. 7, 3:00pm. The event will be held in the Sanctuary of First United Methodist Church and is free and open to the public.
How Can I Keep from Singing is a beautiful hymn text that resonates with singers all over the world, lifting the spirit through song as an expression of the deeper soul. The Music Ministry of First United Methodist Church in Shreveport is pleased to offer a festival worship experience on such a powerful theme, bringing together singers of all denominations. The participants include the Centenary College Choir and Camerata, First Methodist Church Chancel Choir, area church choir members and directors, First Methodist Brass, and organist Ray Peebles, all under the direction of guest conductor, Dr. Eric Nelson from Emory University.
Dr. Nelson is one of the premier collegiate and church choral conductors in America, a highly dynamic individual who connects with singers of all backgrounds. His gift for integrating musical excellence, theological integrity, and grace into the music-making process is simply remarkable.
The worship experience will feature classic and new sacred anthems sung by a mass festival choir numbering more than a hundred singers, as well as favorite hymn arrangements for the congregation.