WMU choirs present fall showcase

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Three of Western Michigan University's acclaimed choral ensembles—University Chorale, Collegiate Singers and Cantus Femina—will present a concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, in Western Michigan University's Dalton Center Recital Hall. "And So It Goes: The Cycles of Our Lives" will feature music designed to represent different stages of a human life. The event is free and open to the public.

Collegiate Singers

Collegiate Singers, directed by Ken Prewitt and assisted by graduate student Kristina Riewaldt, will sing works that reflect on the more transient qualities of life—birth, death and rebirth. The ensemble will be accompanied by pianist Tina Gorter.

Cantus Femina

Cantus Femina, directed by Dee Gauthier, will perform three pieces exploring winter as being both symbolic of beauty in our lives as well as grief. Two other pieces reflect upon ideas of acceptance of others as they are and the giving of kindness. The set includes pieces by Gjeilo, Reigh, Baas, Padworski and Lane Johnson that are scored for both unaccompanied and accompanied choir.

University Chorale

The University Chorale's set tackles the cycle of human relationships—the birth of a new relationship, an end of a relationship, and the ways in which social connections affect the human experience. The center of the set features Valclovas Augustinas' "Tykus tykus," a Lithuanian folk tale about love, paired with Bob Chilcott's arrangement of the Billy Joel classic ballad, "And So It Goes." The performance will also feature unaccompanied works by Claude Debussy, Eriks Esenvalds and Jake Runestad.

For more information about the concert, visit wmich.edu/music or call (269) 387-4667.

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