"Singing Up a Storm!” to Feature Weather-inspired Music

The Euchlid String Quartet
The Euchlid String Quartet
Contact:
Gwen O’Brien
Director of Media Relations
Saint Mary’s College
(574) 284-4579

February 15, 2013 (South Bend, Ind.)—The South Bend Chamber Singers are proud to bring Singing Up a Storm! to the South Bend Christian Reformed Church, 1855 N. Hickory Road, at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 3. The Euclid String Quartet and the Chamber Children’s Choir will join the Chamber Singers in a concert filled with meteorological music, or music about the weather. WNDU weather forecaster Gary Sieber will act as narrator for the event.

The South Bend Chamber Singers
The South Bend Chamber Singers
The South Bend Chamber Singers is an ensemble-in-residence at Saint Mary’s College. The Singers have presented major choral-orchestral works such as Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Magnificat, B Minor Mass, and St. John Passion, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, and Orff’s Carmina Burana. Yet the ensemble concentrates primarily on works by living composers and regularly commissions new works and unusual and complex arrangements.

For this concert of meteorological music, Nancy Menk, Saint Mary’s College music professor and choral director and director of the South Bend Chamber Singers, commissioned American composer Frank Ferko to write a piece for choir and string quartet in four movements, based on the weather conditions of the four seasons.

The Euclid String Quartet is a dynamic ensemble known for performances filled with personality and vibrant color. Members of the Quartet are Jameson Cooper and Jacob Murphy on violin, Luis Enrique Vargas on viola, and Si-Yan Darren Li on cello. Originally from the U.S., Great Britain, Venezuela, and China, they have won many prizes at major competitions around the world, and hold the prestigious Quartet Residency at Indiana University South Bend. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review raved: “The impressiveness of the Euclid Quartet extended to all the styles…[Their] emotional and timbral richness…brought to mind the old-world approach of the Guarneri Quartet…devoted, expert and exhilarating.” Ara Guzeliman, Artistic Advisor of Carnegie Hall, praised their “wonderful intensity, insight, and communicative strength.”

The Chamber Children’s Choir, directed by Kathleen Keasey, was formed in January 2011 to provide a quality short-term choral experience for children in grades 3 through 8.

Menk chose to have different musicians all performing meteorological music to give the audience an experience they are not likely to forget. “People will enjoy the great variety provided by the adult and children's voices along with the colorful strings. WNDU's Gary Sieber will tie the performance together as he narrates the concert in the manner of a weather forecast.”

Tickets for the concert can be purchased at MoreauCenter.com or by calling the box Office at (574) 284-4626 Monday-Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 Adults: $16

Senior Citizens: $13

SMC/ND/HCC Faculty and Staff: $11

SMC/ND/HCC Students: $6

About Saint Mary’s College: Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., is a four-year, Catholic, women’s institution offering five bachelor’s degrees and more than 30 major areas of study. Saint Mary’s College has six nationally accredited academic programs: social work, art, music, teacher education, chemistry and nursing. Saint Mary's College ranks among the top 100 “Best National Liberal Arts Colleges” for 2013 published by U.S. News. Founded in 1844, Saint Mary’s is a pioneer in the education of women, and is sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Cross.

Back to Stories