Release Date: March 15, 2007

MONMOUTH, Ill. — A concert featuring “Music You Should Know” by the Monmouth College Chorale will be held March 22 at 7:30 p.m. in the Kasch Performance Hall of the Dahl Chapel and Auditorium.

Free and open to the public, the concert will also include a special appearance by the student a cappella ensemble, Sound of 5.

Chorale director Sarah Graham said the performance will feature songs she has been teaching to choral music education majors and students from her choral methods classes.

“The program represents teachable experiences for our students,” she said. “What we are trying to do is expose them to literature they could do when teaching – literature that is culturally and historically diverse.”

The Chorale will present three different sets of music, beginning with Renaissance pieces by William Byrd and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. The group will then present a set of four Latin American pieces representing the countries of Cuba, Brazil, Uruguay and Ecuador. Two of the four will be sung in Spanish.

Finally, Monmouth College’s most highly auditioned ensemble will present two compositions by Donna Gartman Schultz, a celebrated composer from the Pacific Northwest. The first piece, titled “There Was a Time,” uses the text of William Wordsworth and highlights a tuba solo by Patrick Murphy, a sophomore music major from Macomb. The second Schultz composition is “Remember,” featuring text by Christina Rosetti.

According to Graham, Schultz has been commissioned by Monmouth College to compose a piece titled “Sit Lux” which is the college’s Latin motto for “let there be light.” The world premiere of “Sit Lux” will be dedicated and presented, with the composer on hand, at the annual “Christmas at Monmouth” program this December.

Following the Chorale’s portion of the concert, the Sound of 5, will preview a short sample of pieces they will perform for a concert titled “Accafest” on March 24 in the Dahl Chapel and Auditorium. On stage with the Sound of 5 at the March 24 concert will be similar a cappella groups from Michigan State University (the Spartan Dischords) and the University of Illinois (The Girls Next Door).

The conclusion of the “Music You Should Know” concert will feature the Chorale’s traditional benediction selection of “The Lord Bless You and Keep You.”

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