A weekend of choral performances at NAU

The NAU Shrine of the Ages Choir from above

The last weekend in April is scheduled to be a big one for the Northern Arizona University School of Music with two concerts featuring seven unique choral ensembles.

On April 29, vocal jazz ensembles High Altitude and Northern Voices, under the direction of Ryan Holder, associate director of choral studies, and graduate student Sarah Harrell, will perform. The ensembles will feature an array of music from the jazz repertoire.

On April 30, the annual Spring Festival of Choirs will include performances by the five following NAU ensembles:

  • The Harold M. Harter Memorial Handbell Choir, conducted by graduate student Joanna Richards, will open the concert with arrangements of familiar music from the Overture to Carmen and a medley of music from “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
  • The Men’s Chorale will perform under the direction of graduate student Matthew Myers. The choir will sing a French folk tune arranged by Francis Poulenc along with contemporary American music.
  • The University Singers, conducted by graduate student Brad Beale, will perform a variety of music featuring a Renaissance motet, a Broadway arrangement and a South African praise song.
  • The NAU Women’s Chorale will perform a five-movement work in Persian by the contemporary Minnesota composer Abbie Betinis.
  • After a brief intermission, the NAU Shrine of the Ages Choir will perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Magnificat” with a guest chamber orchestra featuring instrumental faculty artists and members of the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra. The choir will perform the 25-minute, 12-movement work under the direction of Edith A. Copley, director of choral studies at NAU. The performance will feature seven student soloists: Celine Durney, Josephyne Santos, Hannah Kimball, Courtney Evans, Christopher Case, Geoffrey Lambeth and Karson Krieg.

Tickets for both concerts are available online through NAU’s Central Ticket Office or by calling 928-523-5661.