Choir Tour Press Release 2008
LONE STAR COLLEGE-MONTGOMERY
NEWS RELEASE
For immediate publication (3/18/08) Contact: Steve Scheffler, (936) 273-7224, or Amy Cooper, (936) 273-7021
Chamber Singers to Embark on Annual Spring Tour
The Lone Star College-Montgomery Chamber Singers, a select choir of 16 voices, will appear on tour in Dallas and Huntsville, Texas, from April 10-12. The choir will present a free, public performance at the Plymouth Park United Methodist Church in Irving on Friday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m. In addition, the group will conduct three private performances for residents at the Juliette Fowler Retirement Facility, Caruth Haven Court, and Carriage Inn.
The choir’s program spans eras and styles, with the unifying principle being that all of the music was written for a cappella singing (with no instruments) by small groups of singers. Audience favorites will certainly include “Embraceable You,” of George Gershwin, three African American spirituals arranged by William Dawson, and a touching arrangement of the Northern Irish folk song, “Oh Danny Boy.”
The Chamber Singers will also perform the Renaissance Motet “Gaudete Omnes,” two rarely heard chorales for choir by Camille Saint-Saëns, a stunning a cappella arrangement of Debussy’s Clair de Lune, and three secular Russian pieces that are being heard for only the second time ever in the United States.
The choir is directed by Gregory Ristow, professor of music at Lone Star College-Montgomery. These concerts mark the group’s third annual tour, and the first time they’ve performed in the Dallas area. “We’ve picked a really wide variety of music for this tour,” Ristow said. “Our hope is that audiences will come to hear music they know and love, and will leave having discovered something new that they love just as much.” In addition to his work at LSC-Montgomery, Ristow is active nationally as a conductor and clinician and regularly directs choirs and teaches workshops at the Eastman School of Music and the Interlochen Arts Camp.
LSC-Montgomery is located at 3200 College Park Drive, one-half mile west of Interstate 45, between Conroe and The Woodlands. For more information about the college, call (936) 273-7000, or visit Montgomery.LoneStar.edu.
Lone Star College System consists of five colleges, including CyFair, Kingwood, Montgomery, North Harris, and Tomball, six centers and Lone Star College-University Center. With 49,250 students, it is the largest college system in the Houston area, and third largest community college district in Texas. For more information, visit www.LoneStar.edu.
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