Ouachita Stories

The Ouachita Baptist University Concert Choir will perform Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem on Tuesday, May 3, at 7:30 p.m. in the McBeth Recital Hall on Ouachita’s Arkadelphia campus.

“The two works performed in the concert are contrasting,” said Dr. Gary Gerber, director of the choir and chair of OBU’s division of music. “Chichester Psalms is an energetic work based on Psalms and the Fauré Requiem is a subtle work that finds its expression through the restrained dynamics and lush harmonies.

“The purpose of this program is to give our students the opportunity to perform large-scale choral works,” Gerber said.  “Concert Choir has performed Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, Messiah by G. F. Handel and Elijah by Felix Mendelssohn within the last few years. We are fortunate at Ouachita to be able to perform choral works that generally are only performed at the graduate level.”

The concert will feature several student soloists. Chichester Psalms will feature Grace Johnson, a senior vocal performance major from Tyler, Texas; Meredith Martin, a freshman choral music education major from Garland, Texas; Joel Rogier, a sophomore vocal performance major from Glen Carbon, Ill.; Maggie Taylor, a senior choral music education major from Russellville, Ark.; and Josiah Wheeler, a senior choral music education major from Jacksonville, Ark.

For the Requiem, Andrew Miller, a junior vocal performance major from Dalworthington Gardens, Texas, and Elisabeth Hipp, a senior vocal performance major from Memphis, Tenn., will be featured.

The Concert Choir is open to any student wishing to participate and does not require an audition.

“The caliber of students enables our program to perform a variety of choral literature” year after year, Gerber said. “The combination of these two works will be an enjoyable evening of choral music.”

Tickets for the concert are general admission and cost $5 each. All OBU students receive one free ticket with their valid OBU ID, but seating is limited. For tickets or more information, visit the JPAC box office or call (870) 245-5563 Monday-Friday from 2-5 p.m.

By Rudy Jones