SU Hosts Annual Spring Music Festival

SALISBURY, MD---Salisbury University hosts its annual Spring Music Festival May 4-11 in Holloway Hall Auditorium. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m.

The Salisbury and University chorales inaugurate the festival Saturday, May 4, with a performance of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. The concert features soprano Brandie Sutton of the Metropolitan Opera. Additional soloists include baritone Jeffrey Todd and tenors Jeremiah Copeland, Lance Fisher and Dr. John Wesley Wright. Dr. William Folger, SU Music, Theatre and Dance Department co-chair, directs.

Based on 24 poems from the medieval collection of the same name, the 1930s “scenic cantata” reflects on timeless themes such as the fickleness of fortune and wealth, the ephemeral nature of life, the joy of the return of spring, and the pleasures and perils of sins including drinking, gluttony, gambling and lust.

Sponsored by benefactors Peter and Judy Jackson, admission is $12, $9 for seniors 62+ and SU alumni, $5 for non-SU students, $3 for SU students with Gull Card. Advance tickets may be purchased online at www.salisbury.edu/performingarts, by phone at 410-543-6228, or at the SU Box Office (Fulton Hall Room 100, Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.).

The festival continues with the Salisbury Pops’ annual spring concert, “Mood Reflections,” on Tuesday, May 7. Directed by Lee Knier, the performance features selections including Elgar’s “Nimrod” from Enigma Variations, Copland’s “Hoe Down” from Rodeo and Curiale’s “Joy” from Awakening, as well as Gjeillo’s “Serenity,” Green’s “Atlantic Fanfare,” O’Toole’s “Longing,” Whitacre’s “Lux Aurumque” (“Light and Gold”), Balmages’ “Backstage Pass” and King’s “Walking Frog March.” Todd also solos during this concert.

The SU Jazz Ensemble, directed by Jerry Tabor, performs its annual spring concert Thursday, May 9. The performance features small-group contemporary jazz compositions by local and regional artists including Tabor (“An Opening to the Sky,” “Throttle”); Annapolis-based national recording artist Amy Shook (“Wollie’s Favorite Dress”); Pat Shook, tenor saxophonist with the U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors at Fort Meade (“Mr. Twister”); and SU music major McCabe Dignam (“Magmatic”).

Admission to the Salisbury Pops and SU Jazz Ensemble concerts is free.

The festival culminates on Saturday, May 11, with the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra’s (SSO’s) annual spring concert, “Rachmaninoff’s Realm,” featuring guest pianist Earnest Barretta in his second performance with the SSO.

Directed by Dr. Jeffrey Schoyen, the program includes Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concert No. 2 in C, Op. 18” and Liszt’s Les Préludes, as well as upbeat works by Gershwin, Porter and Ellington. The Washington Post has hailed Barretta’s playing as “stylish and expressive,” adding, “The Capricious spontaneity was exactly right and showed what Barretta can do when he puts everything on the line.”

Admission is $25, $20 for seniors age 60 and older, $10 for SU faculty and staff, and $5 for students and children 18 and under. Advance tickets are available online at www.SalisburySymphonyOrchestra.org and at the Guerrieri Student Union Information Desk.

Sponsored by the Music, Theatre and Dance Department, all performances are open to the public. For more information call 410-548-5588 or visit the SU website.