The West Virginia Division of Culture and History will kick off this season’s Collegiate Series with a concert by the Marshall University Chamber Choir on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. The program will take place in the Norman L. Fagan West Virginia State Theater at the Cultural Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston. The concert is free and the public is invited to attend.
The select 32-member choir, under the direction of Dr. David Castleberry, director of choral activities, will perform selections ranging from renaissance music of Claudio Monteverdi to more contemporary works by Eric Whitacre, Stephen Chatman, Rihards Dubra, Trond Kverno, and others, with a concentration on music that explores “ethereal” themes.
The concert will preview music the group will perform this year in a tour to Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. The Chamber Choir has earned acclaim for its many recordings and concerts at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C., performances on West Virginia Public Television and Radio including an award-winning, hour-long special Choral Fusion, and frequent tour and convention presentations.
Participation in the Chamber Choir is open to all students from the entire campus through competitive auditions each fall.
Castleberry, professor of music, has served as director of choral activities since 1990 and is currently president of the Southern Division of the American Choral Directors Association. He is working on a text dealing with the conductor’s varied roles in preparation, rehearsal and performance of choral music.
The Collegiate Series will continue on Tuesday, Nov. 18, with senior students in a musical theater production from Marshall University, and on Tuesday, Nov. 25, with a piano recital by John Mark Walkup, associate professor of music and chairman of humanities, education and social sciences at New River Community and Technical College.
For more information about the Collegiate Series, contact Jacqueline Proctor, deputy commissioner for the Division, at (304) 558-0220.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, brings together the state’s past, present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. Its administrative offices are located at the Cultural Center in the State Capitol Complex in Charleston, which also houses the state archives and state museum. The Cultural Center is West Virginia’s official showcase for the arts. The agency also operates a network of museums and historic sites across the state. For more information about the Division’s programs, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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