Saturday, April 14, 7:30 p.m.
Knox College's Kresge Recital Hall, 2 East South Street, Galesburg IL
Sunday, April 15, 4 p.m.
St. Paul Lutheran Church, 2136 Brady Street, Davenport IA
In their final concerts of the 2017-18 season, the professional vocal ensemble the Nova Singers celebrate the wonder of nature in April 14 and 15 presentations of Our Earth, Our Home – aural explorations of the planet's beauty and fragility detailed through songs about flora, fauna, the sea, and the sky.
Describing the Our Earth, Our Home repertoire, Nova Singers' director Dr. Laura Lane says, ““I wanted to develop a program about nature and the need for humans to take better care of our environment, and we start with beautiful and exhilarating pieces about birds and trees by the great composers Monteverdi, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. I am also really excited to present two movements about the moon from Will Averitt’s The Deepness of the Blue. One of the most innovative and expressive composers living today, Averitt writes for choir and piano for four hands, so Casey Dierlam and Janell Johnson will join us for these pieces.
“Then, the Nova Singers will delve into a style we rarely touch, but which I adore: vocal jazz. Anders Edenroth, a Swedish composer and singer in The Real Group, has written Water, an extremely moving song about the scarcity of water and our tendency to take it for granted. In addition, the singers and I are madly in love with the new Esenvalds piece we're performing and with Daniel Elder’s stunningly beautiful The Heart’s Reflection, and we finish the program with a wildly exciting song from Inner Mongolia about the power and beauty of horses, and with Carly Simon’s Let the River Run,” the theme from 1988's Working Girl that won the Oscar for Best Original Song. Adds Lane, “I don’t know how you could find a program with more variety of styles, moods and fun!”
Founded in 1986 by Knox College's music-department chair Lane, the Nova Singers gathers vocalists from across Western Illinois and Eastern Iowa who share common interests in expressive virtuosity, professional excellence, and community outreach. With the ensemble performing at state, regional, and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association and throughout the Midwest, the Nova Singers' efforts have been rewarded with grants from the Illinois Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts, and to date, the singers have recorded nine albums.
Our Earth, Our Home will be performed at Knox College's Kresge Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m. on April 14, and at Davenport's St. Paul Lutheran Church on April 15 at 4 p.m. Admission is $15-18, with students admitted free of charge, and more information and reservations are available by calling (309)341-7038 or visiting NovaSingers.com.
