Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The A Cappella Choir at Stephen F. Austin State University will present the virtual concert “Songs for Eternity” when the ensemble performs at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 5.
The choir will perform works by J.S. Bach, Johannes Brahms, Ralph Vaughan Williams and William Hawley. The concert explores eternal love in both sacred and secular poetry, according to Dr. Michael Murphy, director of choral activities at SFA and the choir’s conductor.
The concert opens with Vaughan Williams’ festive and virtuosic “A Choral Flourish.” Three movements from Bach’s Cantata 140, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, will also be performed.
“This cantata is rich with biblical allusions and explores the idea of a bridegroom meeting his bride,” Murphy said.
The choir will perform Brahms’ last song in his “Three Quartets,” Der Gang zum Liebchen. Murphy describes its inspiration as a “straightforward poem where a lover walks to his sweetheart under the moonlight.”
Dr. Ron Petti, director of collaborative piano at SFA, will accompany. School of Music faculty members Jennifer Dalmas, Abby Held, Alba Madrid, Melissa Nabb and Evgeni Raychev will collaborate on the concert.
Free access to the online, livestreamed concert will be available at music.sfasu.edu on the night of the performance. For more information about the School of Music, call (936) 468-4602.