The Winona State University Department of Music and the Lyceum series will present the Music Gala Weekend with guest composer Stephen Paulus Friday, April 19, through Sunday, April 21, in Main Stage of the Performing Arts Center.
Paulus will discuss his music at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 16, in the PAC Recital Hall. A Minnesota native, he is known internationally for his choral and vocal music. Most of the music presented in the Gala Weekend will include works composed by Paulus. He has been hailed by The New Yorker as “…a bright, fluent inventor with a ready lyric gift.” He has produced more than two hundred works representing many different genres, including music for orchestra, chorus, chamber ensembles, solo voice and keyboard. Paulus is one of the most frequently recorded contemporary composers, with his music represented on more than fifty recordings.
The Music Gala Weekend will kick off with the WSU Jazz Ensemble, conducted by Rich MacDonald, at 7:30 p.m. April 19. The program includes selections like “500 Miles High” by Mark Taylor, “The Count is In” by Jim Martin, “Stardust” by S. Nestico and “In the Tradition” by Steve Owen. The concert is $10 for adults, $6 for students and seniors, and free for members of Friends of Jazz.
The Gala continues with the WSU Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Paul Vance, at 3 p.m. Saturday. The orchestra will perform the overture to “Nabucco” by Giuseppe Verdi and Mozart’s “Symphony No. 31,” in addition to “Spectra” by Stephen Paulus, which was composed in 1980 for the Houston Symphony Chamber Orchestra. This concert is free and open to the public.
At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, the WSU Choirs, conducted by Harry Mechell, will present “An American Choral Portrait.” Music by Paulus, Aaron Copland, Cecil Effinger, Z. Randall Stroope, Norman Dello Joio and spirituals by Moses Hogan and Jester Hairston will be featured at the concert. The Men’s Ensemble will also be featured. The concert is $12 for adults, $8 for $12 students and seniors.
Sunday afternoon will mark the last concert of the Gala Weekend. The Symphonic Wind Ensemble, conducted by Donald Lovejoy, will perform at 2 p.m. This concert is free and open to the public.
For tickets, visit www.winona.edu/arts.
A full version of this release can be found at http://wp.me/p2b5nQ-Un.
For more information, email Paul Vance.
