SMU choirs to perform spring concert April 12

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary’s University choirs, under the direction of Patrick O’Shea, will present their spring concert Saturday, April 12.

The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels, Wabasha and Vila streets.

The repertoire will feature works by Daniel Pinkham, Herbert Howells and Harry Somers.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors and are available at the SMU Box Office, (507) 457-1715, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

Saint Mary’s ‘Lessons and Carols’ Christmas service is Dec. 7

WINONA, Minn. — The joyous and uplifting Christmas service of “Lessons and Carols” will be presented by the Saint Mary’s University Department of Music at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7.

The beautiful service, held in the majestic Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels, features the Saint Mary’s Concert Choir and Chamber Singers, directed by Dr. Patrick O’Shea.

“Lessons and Carols” reflects on the Christmas story through several short readings, hymns and Christmas carols sung by the choirs and audience. Music includes familiar carols and selections by composers from the Renaissance to the present.

The Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels is located at Wabasha and Vila streets in Winona.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors and are available by calling the SMU Box Office, (507) 457-1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, or online at www.pagetheatre.org. Tickets at the door are available by cash or check only.

Saint Mary’s debuts 7th Kaplan Commission Sept. 28

The premiere performance of Larry Bitenski's Jewish oral folk tale "Katanya" will be Sept. 28 at Saint Mary's.

WINONA, Minn. — A joint performance of the Saint Mary’s University Concert Band, Chamber Singers and Choirs will feature the world-premiere composition, “Katanya” during a family-oriented fall concert 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, at Page Theatre.

“Katanya,” written by Larry Bitensky of Centre College, Danville, Ky., is a Jewish oral folk tale from Turkey that tells a variation of the familiar Tom Thumb/Thumbelina story. Bitensky will serve as the tale’s on-stage narrator during the Concert Band premiere, which includes Jewish folk songs the composer heard as a youth.

“Katanya” was commissioned by the Helen and Sam Kaplan Foundation, which supports performances and activities led by Jewish artists and scholars that are designed to increase cultural and religious understanding at Saint Mary’s. Bitensky is SMU’s seventh Kaplan composer.

Known for music described as “extraordinarily sensitive and beautiful” and “speaking directly to the heart,” Bitensky, a composer and pianist, has been hailed for works that are satisfying for performers and communicative to audiences.

Born in 1966 in New York, and educated at Skidmore College, the New England Conservatory of Music, Ithaca College, and Cornell University, Bitensky’s musical personality is rooted in a range of influences. He often seeks to merge the complex structures and expressive range of the classical masters and the innovations of the 20th-century greats with the melodic and rhythmic invention and improvisatory flow of musical traditions from India, Indonesia, the Islamic and Jewish worlds, jazz, and the Grateful Dead. His travels as part of the Centre College study abroad program have also allowed him to explore firsthand the musical cultures of Morocco, Spain, Turkey and Bali.

Recorded on Mark Records and Sea Breeze Vista records, Bitensky’s music has been performed by numerous ensembles and at various festivals around North America, Europe and Asia. His music is published by Silly Black Dog Music.
                                      
Bitensky is an associate professor of music at Centre College. He lives in Lancaster, Ky., with his wife Kathy and his silly black dog Chloe.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students and are available online at www.pagetheatre.org or at the SMU Box Office, (507) 457-1715, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

This performance is just one of several events scheduled during SMU Family Weekend, Sept. 27-29, that highlights the musical and theatrical talents of Saint Mary’s students.

Saint Mary’s choirs to perform April 27

The Saint Mary’s University Concert Choir and Chamber Singers — under the direction of Dr. Patrick O’Shea — will present a spring concert 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 27, at Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels, located at 7th and Vila streets.

Guests will include the Northwestern College Varsity Men’s Chorus, under the direction of Dr. Tim Sawyer, and the SMU Chamber Orchestra.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students and are available at www.pagetheatre.org or at the SMU Box Office, (507) 457-1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Saint Mary’s ‘Lessons and Carols’ Christmas service is Dec. 8

WINONA, Minn. — The joyous and uplifting Christmas service of “Lessons and Carols” will be presented by the Saint Mary’s University Department of Music at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8.

The beautiful service, held in the majestic Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels, features the Saint Mary’s Concert Choir and Chamber Singers, directed by Dr. Patrick O’Shea.

“Lessons and Carols” reflects on the Christmas story through several short readings, hymns and Christmas carols sung by the choirs and audience. Music includes familiar carols and selections by composers from the Renaissance to the present.

The Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels is located at Wabasha and Vila streets in Winona.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors and are available by calling the SMU Box Office, (507) 457-1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

‘Let Us Remember’ Centennial performance

WINONA, Minn. — In honor of Saint Mary’s University’s Centennial, a special program celebrating the history, mission and legacy of Saint Mary’s will be presented. “Let Us Remember” — a performed narrative that includes many of the voices from Saint Mary’s rich history — will incorporate theatre, music, visual art and dance into one inspiring program.

Experience SMU’s 100-year journey through word, music and photographs during performances scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 4-6. A matinee will begin at 2 p.m. Oct. 6.  “Let Us Remember” was written and will be directed by 1979 Saint Mary’s alumnus and Dean of the School of the Arts Michael Charron.

The program features newly commissioned music scores by Dr. Patrick O’Shea, director of choirs, and Eric Heukeshoven, director of jazz, as performed by the SMU Concert Band and SMU Choirs.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors and are available at the SMU Box Office, (507) 457-1715 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

Saint Mary’s choirs to perform April 28

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary’s University Concert Choir and Chamber Singers, under the direction of Dr. Patrick O'Shea, will present their Spring Concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 28, at the Chapel of St. Mary of the Angels in Winona. The concert will also feature the Saint Mary’s Chamber Orchestra and organist Eric Heukeshoven. The performance will include works by Purcell, Bruckner, Egil Hovland, Stephen Hatfield, and Stephen Paulus.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students and are available at the SMU Box Office, (507) 457-1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

SMU offers back-to-back free public concerts

WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary’s University invites the public to two free concerts — featuring the talents of student musicians fresh from spring break performance tours.

The SMU Chamber Singers, under the direction of Dr. Patrick O’Shea, will present a concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 15, at Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels, 7th and Vila streets. The 27-voice select ensemble is performing in Wisconsin, Illinois and the Canadian province of Ontario as part of its 2012 Concert Tour from March 4-11.

A jazz homecoming concert is planned for 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 16, in Figliulo Recital Hall, located in the SMU Performance Center. The event will feature a 12-piece “Little Big Band” fresh from a tour to Germany. Led by Dr. John Paulson, the group is performing a wide variety of jazz selections in and around the city of Cologne (Köln), Germany from March 5-10.

Saint Mary’s ‘Lessons and Carols’ Christmas service is Dec. 10

WINONA, Minn. — The joyous and uplifting Christmas service of “Lessons and Carols” will be presented by the Saint Mary’s University Department of Music at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10.

The beautiful service, held in the majestic Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels, features the Saint Mary’s Concert Choir and Chamber Singers, directed by Dr. Patrick O’Shea, and the Chamber Orchestra.

“Lessons and Carols” reflects on the Christmas story through several short readings, hymns and Christmas carols sung by the choirs and audience. Music includes familiar carols and selections by composers from the Renaissance to the present.

The Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels is located at Wabasha and Vila streets in Winona.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors and are available by calling the SMU Box Office, (507) 457-1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, or online at http://www.pagetheatre.org.

SMU offers full weekend of student performances

Flute player Emily Fasen, Monticello, Minn.

WINONA, Minn. — Two public student performances — a jazz concert and a choir and band performance — highlight Saint Mary’s University’s upcoming Family Weekend Sept. 30-Oct. 2.

• SMU jazz groups will kick off their year with a fall blast at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, in Figliulo Recital Hall, located in the Performance Center. Jazz Combo I (a new and hot jazz nontet) will fire off the show with jazz classics like Horace Silver’s “The Preacher,” “I'll Take Romance” and the cool bossa “Speak Low” by Kurt Weil. Alto saxophonist Markeise Russell and tenor saxophonist Ben Scott are two of the student soloists featured in the combo. The 18-piece Jazz Ensemble follows with some selections including “My Romance” with Tyler Ringeisen on flugelhorn, “My Foolish Heart” featuring Katy Kosiek on alto sax, and several other recognizable standards like “It Had To Be You,” arranged by Frank Mantooth. Closing the Jazz Ensemble set will be Gordon Goodwin’s rocker “Hit The Bricks.” Both groups are directed by professor of music Dr. John Paulson. Two jazz workshop combos, directed by Dr. Paulson and Eric Heukeshoven, will play for a reception following the concert in the Toner Student Center Lounge.

•The SMU Concert Band and Choirs will combine talents for a 2 p.m. concert Saturday, Oct. 1, at Page Theatre. The SMU Concert Band , under the direction of Dr. Janet Heukeshoven, will start the concert with “Bayou Breakdown” by Brant Karrick, followed by the “First Suite in E♭” by Gustav Holst, and finishing with an arrangement by John Wassen of music from “Pirates of the Caribbean.” The Chamber Singers will perform a set of Swedish folksongs arranged by Hugo Alfvén, and the Concert Choir will present selections by Fauré, and Gilbert and Sullivan. Both choirs are directed by Dr. Patrick O’Shea. The Women’s Choir, directed by Lindsy O’Shea, will also perform. A reception will follow in the Toner Student Center Lounge.

Tickets to both performances are $10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors, and are available at the SMU Box Office, (507) 457-1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays or online at www.pagetheatre.org. Tickets are also available at the door.

Saint Mary’s choirs to perform April 30

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary’s University Chamber Singers and Concert Choir, under the direction of Dr. Patrick O’Shea, and Women’s Choir, under the direction of Lindsy O’Shea, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 30, at the Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels, located on the Saint Teresa campus.

The concert will include works by Monteverdi, Saint-Saëns, Ferko, Handel, Moses Hogan and SMU’s Patrick O’Shea and Eric Heukeshoven. The event will also feature the Saint Mary's University Chamber Orchestra.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors and are available at the SMU Box Office, (507) 457-1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

Saint Mary’s University choirs to present ‘Lessons & Carols’

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary’s University Concert Choir, Chamber Singers and Women’s Choir will present their annual holiday tribute, “Lessons and Carols,” at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 11. The concert will also feature the Saint Mary's Chamber Orchestra.

The performance — a celebration of Advent and the Nativity through song and spoken word — will be held at Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels, located at Wabasha and Vila streets.

Music will include familiar carols, as well as selections by a variety of composers from Renaissance to the present.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors and are available by calling the SMU Box Office, (507) 457-1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

SMU Concert Band, choirs to combine Oct. 2 for Family Weekend concert

Saint Mary’s University’s Concert Band and choirs will combine for a 2 p.m. concert Saturday, Oct. 2, at Page Theatre, located in the SMU Performance Center.

The Concert Choir and Chamber Singers, under the direction of Dr. Patrick O'Shea, and the Women’s Choir, directed by Lindsy O'Shea, will present works in English and Latin, including compositions by Palestrina, Randall Thompson, and Moses Hogan.

The SMU Band, under the direction of Dr. Janet Heukeshoven, will start the year with a fanfare for concert band by Jack Stamp, “Cenotaph.” This will be followed by Malcolm Arnold's “Scottish Dance No. 1” (from “Four Scottish Dances,” arranged for band by John Paynter) and another work based on the Scottish tradition, “Perthshire Majesty,” by Samuel Hazo. The band will conclude its part of the concert with the “Florentiner March” by Czech composer Julius Fucik.

To conclude the performance, the choir and band will combine for Randall Thompson's “The Last Words of David.”

This is the inaugural concert for SMU’s new acoustic shell.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors and are available at the SMU Box Office, (507) 457-1715 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

Saint Mary’s choirs to perform April 24

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary’s University Chamber Singers and Concert Choir, under the direction of Dr. Patrick O’Shea, and Women’s Choir, under the direction of Lindsy O’Shea, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 24, at the Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels, located on the Saint Teresa campus.

The concert will include works such as Mozart's “Missa Brevis in D Major” and “K. 194”; “Mass No. 3” by Russell Woollen; the haunting “Carols of Death” by William Schuman; as well as other arrangements of folk songs and spirituals. The concert will also include several selections performed by the Winona Area Youth Singers, also under Lindsy O’Shea’s direction.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors and are available at the SMU Box Office, (507) 457-1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

Saint Mary’s to feature new faculty, student compositions

WINONA, Minn. — New music by faculty and students of the Saint Mary’s University Music Department will be highlighted in a free public performance Saturday, April 10. The event will begin at 3 p.m. in Figliulo Recital Hall, located in the SMU Performance Center.

Featured selections will include the premiere of “Fantasia for Solo Piano” by SMU student Brian Heim, as well as the premiere of “I Miss the Moon” for jazz quartet by long-time faculty member and jazz saxophonist Dr. John Paulson.

Recently commissioned works by music faculty Dr. Patrick O’Shea and A. Eric Heukeshoven will also be performed. Heukeshoven’s “The Chief,” a work for narrator and chamber ensemble and O’Shea’s song cycle “The Dispossessed” are both based on poems by former Winona Poet Laureate James Armstrong. The two Armstrong pieces feature unusual combinations of folk and classical instruments, such as accordion and uilleann pipes with cello, flute and clarinet.

“Autumn Waves” by 2009 SMU music alumnus Jeremy Johnston will feature faculty member Dr. Janet Heukeshoven on flute, accompanied by her husband Eric on the piano.

The SMU Chamber Singers will perform A. Eric Heukeshoven’s “Pathway of Life” in memory of Ben Larson, the Luther College student who recently lost his life in the Haiti earthquake. The text for Heukeshoven’s choral work (written in 2006) was dedicated to Larson’s mother, the Rev. April Larson, former bishop of the La Crosse Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

The jazz quartet will also be featured on “Nyhavn Reflections” by A. Eric Heukeshoven — a work written for the world-renown Danish jazz saxophonist Marc “Kibrick” Bernstein.

This performance is made possible by the Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota School of the Arts. For more information, please contact A. Eric Heukeshoven at (507) 457-7292 or eheukesh@smumn.edu.

SMU Chamber Singers to present Homecoming Concert

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary’s University Chamber Singers will present a Homecoming Concert at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25, at Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels on the Saint Teresa campus. The event is free and open to the public.

The 22-voice select ensemble, directed by Dr. Patrick O’Shea, is touring Colorado as part of their 2010 Concert Tour. Tour highlights include performances at the Chapel of Our Savior and the St. Paul Catholic Church, both located in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Repertoire will include a cappella works by Willan, Scarlatti, O’Shea, Hatfield and Woollen, as well as some vocal jazz material.

For more information, call Dr. O’Shea at (507) 457-1598.

SMU Chamber Singers to perform in Colorado

WINONA, Minn. – The Chamber Singers of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota will perform a series of concerts in Colorado as part of their 2010 Concert Tour.

The 22-voice select ensemble is directed by Dr. Patrick O’Shea, associate professor of music at Saint Mary’s.

Tour performances will include concerts at:

• Chapel of Our Savior (Colorado Springs) – 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 19;
• St. Paul Catholic Church (Colorado Springs) – 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21.

The Chamber Singers will also serve as guest choir for Masses at St. Paul Catholic Church in Colorado Springs at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 21, and before departing at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Winona at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 14.

All performances are free and open to the public. Repertoire will include a cappella works by Willan, Scarlatti, O’Shea, Hatfield and Woollen, as well as some vocal jazz material.

For more information, call (507) 457-1598, or fax (507) 457-1611.

Saint Mary’s University choirs to present ‘Lessons & Carols’ Dec. 5

WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary’s University Concert Choir, Chamber Singers and Women’s Choir will present their annual holiday tribute, “Lessons and Carols,” at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5.

The performance — a celebration of Advent and the Nativity through song and spoken word — will held at Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels, located on the Saint Teresa campus.

Music will include familiar carols, as well as selections by a variety of composers from Renaissance to the present.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors and are available by calling the SMU Box Office, Ext. 1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

SMU choirs concert features world premiere by William Neil

WINONA, Minn. — The SMU Chamber Singers and Concert Choir, under the direction of Dr. Patrick O’Shea, and Women’s Choir, under the direction of Lindsy O’Shea, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 18, at the Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels, located on the Saint Teresa campus.

The performance will include a world premiere performance of Oratoria for choir, soloists, brass, percussion and the church bells of Winona, by William Neil.

The work features the SMU Chamber Singers, percussion and a brass quintet coached by Eric Heukeshoven. Also involved with be Music Technology faculty member Brett Huus, assisting with electronically sampled sounds used in the work.

The evening will also include a special performance of O’Shea’s Due Sonetti di Petrarca and Jake Runestad’s I Will Lift Mine Eyes, as well as works by Pablo Casals and spirituals.

Neil is a 2008 McKnight Visiting Composer. For more information, go to http://duisigh.thecomposerstudio.com.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors and are available at the SMU Box Office, Ext. 1715 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

SMU, WSU choirs to present ‘The Spirit of Venice’ March 21

WINONA, Minn. — The choirs of Saint Mary’s University and Winona State University will present an evening of Renaissance and early Baroque music in “The Spirit of Venice” on Saturday, March 21.

The choirs, under the direction of Dr. Patrick O’Shea and Dr. Harry Mechell, will perform, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels, located at the Saint Teresa campus.

The concert will feature the works of G. Gabrieli, Schuetz, Monteverdi, Hassler, Charpentier, Vivaldi and Pergolesi — composers who have all lived or studied in Venice.

Tickets are $10, $5 for students and seniors and are available at the SMU Box Office, (507) 457-1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday or online at www.pagetheatre.org. Free student rush tickets are available 20 minutes before the performance with either a Saint Mary’s or WSU student ID.