Rose Ensemble closes 2013-14 music series
Monday, April 7, 2014 2:00 AM
News
Pittsburg, KS
The final performance on the Pittsburg State University Solo and Chamber Music Series will be both a musical tour de force and a history lesson in the faiths that have shaped our modern world.
The Rose Ensemble will present, “Land of Three Faiths: Voices of Ancient Mediterranean Jews, Christians, and Muslims,” at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 11, in the Sharon K. Dean Recital Hall in McCray Hall on the PSU campus.
“It has been an amazing season,” said Susan Marchant, Solo & Chamber Series director, “and the series finale is going to be a truly extraordinary evening.”
The Rose Ensemble was founded in 1996 in St. Paul, Minn., and has developed an international reputation for its repertoire, which spans 1,000 years and 25 languages. The ensemble is the recipient of the 2005 Chorus America Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence and first-prize winner in sacred and secular music categories at the 2012 Tolosa Choral Contest in Spain. They have released nine recordings.
The Rose Ensemble’s program for their Pittsburg performance is the result of years of intensive research and training. They describe it as “at once sacred, secular, folk, and classical, embarking on a fascinating exploration of language, spirituality, and cultural exchange.”
“Land of Three Faiths” highlights the Hispano-Arabic Middle Ages as both an important and devastating chapter of Judaic, Christian, and Islamic history. In the program, the laments of the Sephardic Jews mingle with Arab-Andalusian dances and Spanish court songs, while rhythmic cantigas, Hebrew cantillation, and Gregorian chant meet the mystical world of Sufi poetry.
Tickets for the concert are $12 for the general public and $8 for persons over 65 or under 18. Full-time PSU students are entitled to a free ticket. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the University Ticket Office in the Weede Physical Education Building, 1701 S. Homer, 620-235-4796, www.pittstate.edu/tickets, or at the door the evening of the performance.
The Solo and Chamber Music Series is supported by major funding from the PSU Student Government Association. For more information, call the PSU Department of Music at 620-235-4466.