The Chorale, the college’s most highly auditioned choral group, will present its annual major works concert on April 25 at 7:30 p.m. The Concert Band will perform on April 27 at 2 p.m.

Both concerts are free and open to the public. The Chorale will perform its major works concert at Faith United Presbyterian Church, 200 S. 8th St., Monmouth, which is just two blocks south of campus. The Concert Band will play in the Kasch Performance Hall of the Dahl Chapel and Auditorium.

The major works concert will open with a Bach organ work played by Jay N. Regennitter, adjunct professor of music and associate pastor of The Riverside United Methodist Church in Moline. Regennitter joined the Monmouth College faculty in the fall of 2007 and serves as accompanist for the music department’s choral ensembles.

Following the organ piece, the Chorale, under the baton of Sarah Graham, director of choral activities, will sing the "Missa brevis St. Joannis de Deo" (also known as "Kleine Orgelmesse" or "Little Organ Mass") by Franz Joseph Haydn.

The program then transitions from classical to Romantic with "Lass dich nur nichts nicht dauren" from the "Geistliches Lied, Op. 30," by Johannes Brahms. The piece is a good example of Brahms’ love for the Palestrina and Renaissance line in music, yet it is filled with harmonic language that is representative of the classic and Romantic eras.

The second half of the program features "Requiem, Op. 48" by Gabriel Fauré in an arrangement by John Rutter. Graham says Fauré’s "Requiem" is different from other requiems in that it does not use the complete liturgical Requiem text. She says his work was intended to be uplifting, rather than full of rage and sadness.

Special guest soprano soloist for both the Haydn and the Fauré portions of the program will be Karyl Carlson, associate professor of music and director of choral activities at Illinois State University. Carlson teaches graduate conducting at ISU and also serves as conductor of the university’s Concert Choir, the Civic Chorale, Madrigal Singers and Belle Voix.

Carlson received a DMA degree in choral conducting from Michigan State University, and has extensive public school experience as well, having taught in Miami at the middle school and high school levels, including the famed New World School of the Arts.

In addition to being an accomplished pianist, soprano soloist and occasional bassoonist, Carlson has conducted many operas and musicals, and in 2005 served as music director and conductor of the world premiere of Nancy Van de Vate’s "Where the Cross is Made."

While the Chorale is a highly auditioned group, the Monmouth College Concert Band is the opposite extreme, according to Stephen Richter, director of the instrumental group. It is open to students, faculty and community members without an audition. Richter says the musical group is designed to be a recreational outlet for those who like to be play in a concert band for the sheer joy of it.

The Concert Band concert will include selections by such composers as Bach, Borodin and Hazo. It will also feature Brian Wilcoxon, a senior from Philo, as student conductor.