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Magazine April 2016 9 www.artsmagazine.info King College choirs perform two end-of-season concerts SWCC Festival celebrates Shakespeare The spring of 2016 marks an international commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the death of Shakespeare. Sponsored by Southwest Virginia Community College, the theme for the annual Festival of the Arts is Shakespeare and the Birth of Romanticism: An Interna- tional Celebration of the 400th Anniversary of the Death of Shakespeare. The dates are April 11-24, with pre-festival performances March 31 and April 1. While we think of Shakespeare in the realm of theater and his many plays and sonnets, his vast body of work signaled and influenced the birth of the age of romanticism in all the arts. It is in that vein that the theme of the festival was selected. A wealth of music inspired by Shakespeare for chamber ensemble, orchestra and voice is performed. Music from the 18-20th centuries including “West Side Story” (based on Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,”), music from the film score “Henry V,” a suite from music to “Much Ado About Nothing” and music from “The Lion King,” based on King Lear, are a few examples. The festival includes a residency of Shakespearian Improvisational Theatre with actor Joey Bland and the Mountain Youth Drama Group, directed by Lori Gates-Addison. A Sonnet Slam gives students, faculty and community folks a chance to present one of Shakespeare’s sonnets in a humorous yet educational manner. The Richmond Ballet II performs a part of “Romeo and Juliet,” an English Garden Tea is held at Ellenbrook Mansion in Elk Garden; a flower show, All the World’s a Stage, with floral arrangements based on the titles of Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets, is part of the festival. There will be Jeopardy, Festival Café and an exhibit, The Art of Costuming: Barter Theatre Costumes from the Shakespearean Stage. An exhibit of original art on the theme “Such stuff as dreams are made on” and piano master classes, concluding with the Spotlight on Tal- ent featuring piano students of Pavlina Dokovska and Vladimir Valjarevic, are included in the festival. The core part of the festival includes performances by the Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra accompanying the SWCC Community Chorus and soprano Susannah Biller. There are three performances by Camerata Virtuoso New York with SWCC’s music majors. Each performance has a different theme and program. The festival ends with a performance by the SWCC Community Chorus performing an afternoon of Shakespeare-inspired musical theater, selections based on Shakespeare’s plays. The festival schedule is on the college website at www.sw.edu. The choirs of King University perform their final two concerts of the season Friday, April 15 and Saturday, April 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Chapel on King’s main campus in Bristol, Tenn. On Friday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m., as Shakespearean celebrations take place around the globe to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shake- speare, King University’s Symphonic Choir and Collegium Musicum perform music set to the lyrics of the best playwright in history. The two choral groups are under the direction of W. Patrick Flannagan, professor of music and director of choral activities at King University. This concert also features two student conductors seniors Nathan Jones and Rebekah Triska. The following evening, Saturday, April 16 at 7:30 p.m., the King University Jazz/ Gospel Choir, The Queens of King, and All the King’s Men present their Spring Concert. The concert features an assortment of musical styles including traditional, folk, do-wop, contemporary, a cappella, jazz and gospel, as well as some numbers performed in collaboration with the King University Jazz Band. The choirs also perform a special arrangement of “Somewhere over the Rain- bow” by senior Rebekah Triska. The Saturday evening concert is under the direction of Shea A. Clay, assistant pro- fessor of music at King University. Student conductor for the April 16 concert is senior Nathan Jones. Both evening concerts are open to the public and free of charge. For additional information, contact W. Patrick Flannagan at wpfl[email protected] or 423-652-4846 or Shea A. Clay at [email protected] or 423- 652-4831. To receive our free weekly e-mail digest, visit our award-winning website: www.artsmagazine.info In the lower right-hand corner of our homepage, type your email address. It’s that simple!
