Southeast will host Haydn Mass

The Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra and the University Choir and Choral Union will combine to perform Joseph Haydn's "Harmonie" Mass for orchestra, full choir and vocal soloists Tuesday in the Bedell Performance Hall at the River Campus, according to a university news release.

The 7:30 p.m. concert will be preceded by a 6:45 free talk about the program.

Also performing will be this year's winners of the annual Concerto and Aria and Rising Star Competitions. Sara Edgerton and Peter Durow, members of the Department of Music faculty at Southeast Missouri State University, will conduct this concert.

The concert will open with "Overture to Nabucco," written by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi and highlighting all sections of the orchestra -- woodwinds, brass, percussion and strings.

The next two pieces will showcase talents of this year's Collegiate Concerto and Aria Competition: soprano Brittney Leimkuehler and violinist Andrea Ridings.

Leimkuehler, a vocal performance major at Southeast, will perform the "Michaela" aria from Georges Bizet's "Carmen" opera. Leimkuehler has been a member of the University Choir and Choral Union and is a performer in the opera program at Southeast, having sung in "Cosi fan tutte," "Suor Angelica," "Dido and Aeneas" and "Die Zauberflote." After graduation, Leimkuehler plans to pursue a master's degree in vocal performance. She is a student of Timothy Schmidt at Southeast.

Also during the first half of the program, the orchestra will perform the "Agathon" movement of Leonard Bernstein's "Serenade for Violin, Strings, Percussion, and Harp," inspired by Plato's "Symposium." Agathon was a poet from Plato's "Symposium," and this movement is a musical tribute to the poet.

Ridings, a violin performance major at Southeast, will perform this work with the orchestra. Ridings is active in Southeast's chamber music program and has performed in the Opera Orchestra at Southeast. As a member of the Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra, Ridings has served as concertmaster and as principal second violin of the ensemble. She studies the violin at Southeast with Brandon Christensen.

The first half of the concert will conclude with Peter Tchaikovsky's "Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and Orchestra." This work highlights the singing qualities of the cello and its capability for virtuosic display. The soloist for this work will be Michael Zyzak, this year's winner of the precollegiate Rising Star Competition. Zyzak, 16, of the Chicago area, began cello studies at age 4. In 2007, Zyzak made his professional solo debut with the Louisville Orchestra under the direction of maestro Jason Weinberger. He has also appeared live as an invited guest on WUOL 90.5. He is a winner of numerous competitions, including the 2007 Louisville Orchestra Young Artist Competition, WUOL 90.5 Young Artist Competition, OMTA All-State Buckeye Competition and the 2009 Dayton Philharmonic Solo Competition. Zyzak was a winner in the 2010 Cincinnati Symphony Young Artist Concerto Competition. In 2009, he became the winner in the International David Popper Cello Competition in Hungary.

The second half of the concert will present Haydn's "Harmonie" Mass, written in 1802. This work will be performed by the Southeast Missouri Symphony, University Choir and Choral Union, with vocal soloists Jacqueline Collett, soprano; vocal faculty at Truman State University; with Leslie Jones, contralto; Christopher Goeke, tenor; and Timothy Schmidt, baritone -- all faculty at Southeast. This work is the last of the six Masses Haydn wrote near the end of his life for the Esterhazy court.

In addition to strings, the work includes prominent use of winds -- flute, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, French horns and trumpets -- its title derives from the Viennese term for wind band, "harmonie."

Tickets may be bought by calling the River Campus box office at 573-651-2265 or visiting RiverCampusEvents.com.