Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Singin’ Axes and Kantorei choirs at Stephen F. Austin State University will present “To Vienna and Beyond …” when the choral ensembles perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.
Under the direction of Dr. Tod Fish, associate director of choral activities at SFA, the choirs will perform works by composers from Austria and Germany written from the early 17th to the late 19th centuries. A number of SFA music faculty members will collaborate with Fish and the choirs.
Among the works to be performed is Georg Philipp Telemann’s Laudate Jehovam, omnes gentes, which will be sung by the combined Kantorei and Singin’ Axes choirs. SFA music faculty members Dr. Margaret Fay, bassoon, and Professor Graham Mackenzie, oboe, will play the continuo and obligato parts, respectively.
“Dr. Fay will also join Kantorei for Erhöre mich from Kleine Geistliches Konzerte I on continuo,” Fish said. “Dr. Andrea Denis and my wife, Alice Codieck, will join Kantorei to provide a horn duet for two movements of Johannes Brahms’ op. 17 Vier Gesänge für Frauenchor. In addition to Dr. Denis and Ms. Codieck joining us, we will also have singing with us the varsity treble choir from Lufkin High School, directed by Nicole Stewart and Tracy Cole, as the Brahms is part of the 2022 All-State Choir repertoire.”
The Singin’ Axes will also perform two tenor-bass duets from Brahms’ Liebeslieder Walzer, op. 52. “The Singin’ Axes will have the distinction of performing with our two outstanding collaborative pianists, Dr. Maria Lyapkova and Dr. Thomas Nixon,” Fish added.
The combined choirs will sing two classical period Latin motets: Insanae et vanae curae by Joseph Haydn and Ave verum corpus by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
“We are excited to have our new graduate choral conducting student, Caroline Van Landingham of Cypress, conducting both the Singin’ Axes and Kantorei,” Fish said. “With Kantorei, Caroline will conduct Robert Schumann’s beautiful setting of Herbstlied, and J.S. Bach’s Der Herr segne euch from BWV 196, Der Herr denket an uns.
“As always, the Singin’ Axes are thrilled to work with Dr. Nixon again, and Kantorei welcomes Dr. Lyapkova,” he added.
Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. To purchase tickets, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit finearts.sfasu.edu. For additional information, contact the SFA School of Music at (936) 468-4602.