Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University’s School of Fine Arts will present its annual Composers Symposium at 7:30 p.m. on March 16 in Mabee Fine Arts Center's McBeth Recital Hall on Ouachita’s campus. The symposium is a concert of recent compositions by OBU student composers. This year’s concert will feature chamber music as well as a vocal performance by the Ouachita Singers.

The participating student composers include: Natalie Carroll, a senior choral music education major from Harare, Zimbabwe; Adam Chastain, a sophomore music theory/composition major from Bartlett, Tenn.; Nathan Courtright, a junior music major from Rowlett, Texas; Alex Goff, a sophomore music theory/composition major from Nashville, Ark.; Tyler Kemp, a junior music theory/composition major from Bolivar, Mo.; Jon Sanders, a sophomore music theory/composition major from Pearcy, Ark.; Christina Wood, a junior piano performance major from Longview, Texas; and Sarah Wood, a senior music theory/composition and business administration/management double-major from Dallas, Texas.

The program is an opportunity for composition students and professors to have some of their works performed in a concert setting. Each composer has spent at least a semester working on the compositions, drawing inspiration from various sources.

“This particular production's inspiration was using the choir as a means of painting a text,” Goff said. “I chose Psalm 91 as the text for my piece, and it was really easy for me to find the melodies and harmonies to really make that text vibrant and highlight the meaning behind it.”

The concert, which is free and open to the public, will be led by Dr. Patrick Houlihan, OBU professor of music. For more information, contact Houlihan at [email protected] or (870) 245-5130.

By Tara Davidson