Winter Choral Concert This Sunday

The winter choral concert featuring three vocal ensembles will be held on Sunday, February 28 at 4 p.m. in the Jack and Deb Miller Chapel. The concert is free and open to the public.

Under the direction of Dr. Rowland Blackley, the University Choir will present an eclectic mix including Ola Gjeilo's Ubi caritas, a modern twist of a medieval chant; spirituals Abide with Me and The Battle of Jericho by Moses Hogan, and Eric Whitacre's composition of Frederico Garcia Lorca's Spanish love poem, With a Lily in Her Hand.

Dr. Blackley will also conduct the Chamber Singers performing Morten Lauridsen's Les Chansons des Rose, a set of songs based on poetry by Rainer Rilke.

The Women's Chorus, directed by Elizabeth Slade, will perform Johannes Brahms' Four Songs for Women's Chorus, Opus 17, which is one of his earlier works written when he was only 27 years old.

Fall Choral Concert Features Three Vocal Ensembles

Ashland University’s Fall Choral Concert slated for Sunday, October 12 at 4 p.m. in the Jack and Deb Miller Chapel features three University vocal ensembles including the Ashland University Choir, Ashland University Women’s Chorus and Ashland Area Chorus.  The performance is free and open to the public.

Dr. Rowland Blackley, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities will conduct the Ashland University Choir performing Mozart's "Regina coeli" with the Ashland Chamber Orchestra.  In addition, they will sing three love songs and three sacred motets from composers including Samuel Barber, Johann Pachelbel, Z. Randall Stroope and Johannes Brahms.  A Christian song from Kenya will also be featured.   

The Ashland University Women's Chorus, directed by Dr. Marla Butke, Associate Professor and Coordinator of Music Education, will perform a variety of pieces including "Hotaru Koi," a Japanese piece by Ro Ogura, Zebulon Highben's "Shiru L'Adonai" with Hebrew text from Exodus 15:19-21 and accompaniment by a percussion ensemble, Laura Farnell's "In You I Found," and Giovanni Battista Gajani's "Laudate Pueri" based on Psalm 113. 

Elizabeth Slade will conduct the Ashland Area Chorus beginning  with "This Marriage" by Eric Whitacre followed by "Il est bel et bon" ["He is handsome and good"] by Pierre Passereau, "O Death, Rock Me Asleep" attributed to Anne Boleyn, "Mother, I Will Have a Husband" by Thomas Vautor and concluding with Leonard Bernstein's "Make Our Garden Grow."

ASHLAND AREA CHORUS & COMMUNITY CONCERT BAND ANNOUNCE FALL SCHEDULES

Two community music ensembles at Ashland University [Ashland Area Chorus (AAC) and Ashland Area Community Concert Band (AACCB)] announce their fall schedules including rehearsals, concerts and membership requirements.  Beginning Monday, August 18, Ashland Area Chorus rehearsals are held on Monday evenings from 7-8:45 p.m. in Room 242 of the Center for the Arts. Initially meeting on Tuesday, September 2, the Community Band rehearses on Tuesday evenings from 7:30-9 p.m. in the Center for the Arts' Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall.
 
Entering its seventeenth season, the Ashland Area Chorus is a mixed choir of about 50 singers from Ashland and surrounding counties.  The fall semester’s repertoire will include pieces by Bernstein and Whitacre, several sixteenth-century madrigals, and arrangements of traditional carols.  The chorus will participate in the Ashland University Fall Concert, October 12, and the annual Festival of Lights on December 7. Though no formal audition is required for membership, AAC members must be pitch accurate (sing 'on key') and be able to learn and perform their parts successfully. Previous choral experience is helpful. 
 
The Ashland Area Community Concert Band begins its twenty-second season and is for those that loved playing in band in high school or college and want the opportunity to play again. Performances for the ensemble this fall include a performance at the University with the Ashland University Concert Band on Saturday, December 6. Requirements for membership are the ability to play a wind or percussion instrument (no need to be a virtuoso); an interest in playing for enjoyment; desire to play a wide variety of music for the public; an interest in meeting new people who share a common interest and availability for rehearsals on Tuesday evenings. 

Membership in AAC and AACCB is open to all adults. Students still in high school may also participate with the permission of the ensemble's director.  A nominal membership fee of $25 is requested and payable by the fourth week of rehearsals to continue participation in either ensemble for the semester. For further information, contact the Chorus’ director Libby Slade at eslade@ashland.edu or (419) 685-5460; or Community Band director Leonard Salvo at 419-289-5132 or lsalvo@ashland.edu.

FALL CHORAL CONCERT FEATURES THREE VOCAL ENSEMBLES

Ashland University’s Fall Choral Concert features three University vocal ensembles including the Ashland University Choir, Ashland University Women’s Chorus and Ashland Area Chorus on Sunday, October 13, 4 p.m. at the Jack and Deb Miller Chapel.  The performance is free and open to the public. 

Dr. Rowland Blackley, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities will conduct the Ashland University Choir performing the sparkling and joyful Gloria by Antonio Vivaldi, one of the most beloved pieces in the choral repertoire. The AU Choir will be joined by student soloists and the Ashland Chamber Orchestra.  They will also present a set of unaccompanied motets. 

The Ashland University Women's Chorus, directed by Dr. Marla Butke, Associate Professor and Coordinator of Music Education, will perform a variety of pieces including the Israeli folk song Hava Nashira, Bel Piacere from G. F. Handel's opera Agrippina, and contemporary pieces such as Andrea Ramsey's Heaven Unfolding with cello, Brain Tate's exhuberant Gate, Gate which is based on a Buddhist mantra, and John Rutter's The Lord Bless You and Keep You. 

Newly appointed conductor of the Ashland Area Chorus, Elizabeth Slade, will make her concert debut with the ensemble performing pieces by Duruflé, Rachmaninoff and Rutter as well as a new arrangement of a traditional American hymn commissioned for the Chorus.

ASHLAND AREA CHORUS AND COMMUNITY CONCERT BAND ANNOUNCE FALL SCHEDULES

Two community music ensembles at Ashland University, Ashland Area Chorus (AAC) and Ashland Area Community Concert Band (AACCB) announce their fall schedules including rehearsals, concerts and membership requirements.  Beginning August 19, Ashland Area Chorus rehearsals are held on Monday evenings from 7-8:45 p.m. in Room 242 of the Center for the Arts (formerly the Arts and Humanities building). Initially meeting on Tuesday, September 3, the Community Band rehearses on Tuesday evenings from 7:30-9 p.m. in the Center for the Arts' Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall.

Entering its sixteenth season, the Ashland Area Chorus is a non-auditioned mixed choir of about 65 singers from Ashland, Richland, Medina, Wayne, Holmes and Crawford Counties.  The fall semester’s repertoire will include pieces by Duruflé, Rachmaninoff and Rutter as well as a new arrangement of a traditional American hymn commissioned for the Chorus.  The Chorus will participate in the Ashland University fall concert, October 13, and the annual Festival of Lights on December 8. For membership, previous choral experience is helpful and encouraged. 

The Ashland Area Community Concert Band begins its twenty-first season and is for those that loved playing in band in high school or college and want the opportunity to play again. Performances for the ensemble this fall include a concert at the Ashland County Fair on Tuesday, September 17, and a performance at the University with the Ashland University Concert Band on Saturday, December 7. Requirements for membership are the ability to play a wind or percussion instrument (no need to be a virtuoso); an interest in playing for enjoyment; desire to play a wide variety of music for the public; an interest in meeting new people who share a common interest and availability for rehearsals on Tuesday evenings.

Membership to AAC and AACCB is open to anyone.  However, students still in high school must have permission by the ensemble's director.  A nominal membership fee of $25 is requested and payable by the fourth week of rehearsals to continue participation in either ensemble for the semester. The membership fee is payable through the Ashland University Box Office at 419.289.5125 or online at www.ashland.edu/music. 

 

For further information, contact the Chorus’ new conductor Libby Slade at eslade@ashland.edu or (419) 685-5460; or Leonard Salvo, Director of Bands, at 419-289-5132 or lsalvo@ashland.edu.  

ASHLAND AREA CHORUS ANNOUNCES NEW DIRECTOR

After fifteen years of existence, the Ashland Area Chorus will see its first change in directorship this fall.  Dr. Ron Blackley, Professor of Music at Ashland University, is passing his baton to Elizabeth Slade, Adjunct Instructor of Music at Ashland University.

An Ashland resident since 2006, Libby teaches musicianship classes at AU, directs the choir and leads worship music at First United Methodist Church, and has frequently sung with the Ashland Area Chorus.  Libby received her Bachelor's degree in Music and French from the University of Virginia and her Master's degree from Harvard University.  She has conducted numerous choruses on the east coast, including the Mary Baldwin College Choir and the Virginia Women's Chorus.  In addition, she has an extensive background as a professional chorister, soloist and teacher of voice. The AU Department of Music is pleased to have found a conductor with such a fine background, and looks forward to many years of Libby Slade's leadership of the Ashland Area Chorus.

 

Thriving on a mission of singing great music beautifully, the ensemble performs regularly as part of Ashland University choral concerts, annually in collaboration with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra, for the Ohio Choral Directors Association, and by invitation with the Central Ohio Symphony.  Singers have come from the greater Ashland area, but also Richland, Medina, Wayne, Holmes, and Crawford counties as well.  The group sings both accompanied and a cappella choral music mainly drawn from the classical canon.

Rehearsals for the 2013-2014 season of the Ashland Area Chorus will commence on Monday, August 19, at 7:00 pm in Room 242 of the Center for the Arts on the Ashland University campus and are open to all interested singers.  For further information, contact Libby at eslade@ashland.edu.