The combined choirs and orchestra at Stephen F. Austin State University will present “War and Peace” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 9, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.
Conducted by Dr. Michael Murphy, director of choral activities at SFA, the masterwork concert features Franz Joseph Haydn’s “Mass in Time of War” and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Dona Nobis Pacem.”
“The subjects of war and peace have always occupied the great themes of literature and music,” Murphy said. “From the Old Testament and the epic stories of Homer and Virgil down to the writings of many 19th and 20th century authors like Walt Whitman and Wilfred Owen, the emotional and physical turmoil of war and the hope of peace emerge as leading preoccupations of the human race.
“As in literature, war and peace in music is often conveyed either through the glorious exploits of conquests or the realistic brutality that war brings to all,” he said. “That stark duality is explored in our concert.”
Murphy directs SFA’s A Cappella Choir; Dr. Todd Fish, associate director of choral activities, directs the Men’s Choir and Women’s Choir; and Dr. Pierre-Alain Chevalier, visiting director of orchestral activities, directs the Orchestra of the Pines.
Soloists include voice faculty members Prof. Debbie Berry, Prof. Nita Hudson, Dr. Ric Berry, Dr. Scott LaGraff and Dr. Chris Turner.
Prior to the concert, a lecture will be presented at 6:30 p.m. in the Griffith Art Gallery (FA 208) by Dr. Samantha Inman, assistant professor of music theory, and Dr. Jamie Weaver, associate professor of music history. The gallery is located across the hall from Turner Auditorium.
The concert is a joint presentation of the College of Fine Arts and School of Music.
Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.
