MTSU Presents Post Valentine's Day Concert February 15th

Some of MTSU's finest musicians will spread a little love Tuesday, Feb. 15, when the university's Schola Cantorum student vocal ensemble presents a free post-Valentine's Day concert with School of Music faculty members.

Set for 7 p.m. Feb. 15 in Hinton Music Hall inside the Wright Music Building at 1439 Faulkinberry Drive, the concert, "All for Love," will showcase the voices of three Schola Cantorum seniors as well as the pianos of educators Richard and Allison Blumenthal.

Included in the evening's program are selections from composers Johannes Brahms, Georges Bizet and Gaetano Donizetti and excerpts from "Carmina Burana," the 1930s cantata created from a medieval manuscript of poetry and text.

Raphael Bundage, a professor of vocal performance in MTSU's School of Music and the Schola Cantorum's longtime music director/conductor, is guiding the performance.

The university encourages guests to wear masks and follow social distancing measures inside the venue during the event.

Senior vocal performance majors Seth Finch, a Murfreesboro tenor; Tyler Middleton, a baritone from Maryville, Tennessee; and Julie Webster, a soprano from Lynnville, Tennessee, will be the featured soloists.

Finch's showcase is the "Drinking Song" from Ambroise Thomas' 1896 French grand opera adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet," used in an invented scene where the Danish prince seeks relief from his anguish. Middleton's solo is "Bella siccome" from Donizetti's comic opera "Don Pasquale," singing the praises of a potential bride. And Webster will perform the "Je dis que rien ne m'epouvante��� love-triangle aria from Bizet's "Carmen."

The Blumenthals' musicianship will be featured in performances of the 15th-century Venetian poet Blanco da Siena's "Come Down O Love Divine," set to music by 20th-century English composer Ralph Vaughn Williams; "One Sweet Little Baby," a praise song by composers and educators Wes Kennison and Glenn McClure; Brahms' "Neue Liebeslieder Waltzes (New Love Song Waltzes), Op. 65"; and the excerpts from "Carmina Burana."

Richard Blumenthal, the university's staff pianist, works with School of Music students and faculty on recitals and degree performances and with the annual Governor's School for the Arts. Allison Blumenthal, a Murfreesboro collaborative pianist and elementary music educator, is an adjunct faculty member in the School of Music and also works with the Governor's School event.

MTSU student percussionists, led by faculty member Brian Mueller, also will contribute to the "Carmina Burana" performances.

The Schola Cantorum comprises MTSU's best upper-division vocal majors and graduate students. This year's group includes 47 members.

A preview of their work, available at https://youtu.be/itTyoBbbiYw, features the group performing Handel's "Messiah" with the Middle Tennessee Choral Society last fall.