Ohio Northern University Singers
to perform in Defiance

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The University Singers from Ohio Northern University will perform a free concert on Wednesday, October 28, at 8 p.m., in the Arts & Media Center, 319 Wayne Ave. The performance is sponsored by Defiance College and Defiance Community Cultural Council. There will be a free-will offering taken.

The Defiance College Choir will be joining them for a combined number.

The University Singers is a select 52-voice concert choir, which has been in existence since 1971.  Professor Dennis Kratzer, Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music, has been conductor for the choir from 1973-75 and from 1979 to the present.  The choir has toured in past years south to Louisiana and Florida, west to Los Angeles, CA, east to New York City, and north to Canada.  In 1989 the ensemble toured to Europe singing in England, Germany, France and Switzerland.  In 1997 they performed a series of concerts in England and Wales. In the spring of 2007 they traveled to Estonia in Eastern Europe for their spring tour performing an entirely a cappella concert.

This is the second concert on the choir’s 2009 fall tour which will include church and high school concerts in Lima, Defiance, Norwalk, Sandusky and Westerville OH. Last year the ensemble’s fall tour took them to churches and high schools in Cleveland. Two years ago the spring tour took the choir overseas to Estonia, one of the Baltic countries in Eastern Europe. This fall tour will feature primarily a cappella music with the second half highlighting African music with percussion.

The fall tour will feature student accompanist Ryan Neal, sophomore music major from Norwalk, OH who this year also serves as the Associate Conductor.  Guest artists on the tour will be Mary Jane Eichelberger, music organ faculty member at ONU and A. Lewis Jones, percussionist, a professional church musician from Lima, OH. Assistant accompanist is Faith Heflin, junior music major from New Richmond, OH.

Selections to be performed include Clausen’s “I Thank you God,” “Sero te Amavi” by Knecht, “Gloria” by Basler, Hopkin’s “Past Life Melodies,” “Adoramus te Christe” by Barnum, “Ritmo” by Davison, Orban’s “Daemon Irrepit Callidus,” Whitacre’s “Cloudburst,” “Mama Africa” by Guillaume and Maddux’s “O Sifuni Mungu”.  The second half will close with four spirituals including Berg’s “Little David Play,” “I’ve Been in the Storm So Long” by Ames, “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning” by Kern and Moore’s “Daniel, Daniel, Servant of the Lord.”

October 23, 2009