Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Singin’ Axes and Kantorei choirs at Stephen F. Austin State University will present the program “A Bit of This, a Bit of That …” at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.
The program theme reflects the diversity of styles to be performed for this concert by the ensembles, according to Dr. Tod Fish, associate director of choral activities at SFA and director of the choirs.
“The choirs will sing a variety of selections, such as Renaissance motets, a movement from a Baroque cantata, 20th century compositional techniques from both a musical and poetic standpoint, an American folk song, African folk music and a gospel selection,” Fish said. “Composers range from Orlando di Lasso and J.S. Bach to the likes of Vincent Persichetti, Emma Lou Diemer and Keith Hampton.”
The choirs will be joined by collaborative pianists Dr. Thomas Nixon and Maggie Hinchliffe. Herbert Midgley, music technology lecturer, will join Kantorei on either banjo or guitar for an American folk song performance. Dr. Scott LaGraff, baritone, will join the Singin’ Axes when the choir performs two movements from Charles Villiers Standford’s Opus 91 “Songs of the Sea” for solo baritone and tenor bass chorus.
The Kantorei treble choir will perform Diemer’s “Fragments from the Mass,” “which at one point was a staple in the treble choir repertory but has recently been fairly forgotten,” Fish said. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to present this challenging work with our students.”
New faculty member Dr. Cody Hunter, assistant professor of bassoon and music theory, will join the choirs for a performance of Bach’s Den Tod from“ Christ lag in Todesbanden.”
The concert will conclude with Hampton’s “This is the Day,” a gospel selection that will feature several soloists from the choirs.
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.