University to present Schubert Mass in G major

The Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra, Southeast Missouri State University Choir and Choir Union will present Austrian composer Franz Schubert's Mass in G major at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Bedell Performance Hall on the River Campus.

The program also will include two pieces by English composers: Ralph Vaughan Williams' "A London Symphony" and "Blest Pair of Sirens" by Sir Hubert Parry.

Every semester, Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra, Southeast Missouri State University Choir and Choral Union combine to perform a collaborative work, and this year's program aims to put people into the holiday spirit.

The orchestra, conducted by Sara Edgerton, will open with "A London Symphony." She said the festive piece evokes the mood and the spirit of being in London.

"It's very energetic, you have dance tunes in it and several very powerful moments," Edgerton said. "It's a wonderful piece, and Vaughn Williams is one of the great British composers, and people really relate to his music."

Williams wrote Symphony No. 2 in 1913. The varied symphony tries to capture the spirit of London by portraying the magic, the energy and the beauty of the English capital.

The program will move on to Schubert's piece. Schubert composed the Mass in G major in 1815, when he was 18, and it is one of the most famous short masses written by the Romantic composer. Edgerton said it's a good piece to get away from the stress of the season.

"It's very serene, and the choir sounds great, so I think people will enjoy that," she said.

The concert will end on Parry's choral and orchestral work "Blest Pair of Sirens," based on an ode written by English poet John Milton. The piece was composed in 1887 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of England's Queen Victoria and is a beloved piece of the British repertoire.

"It was most recently performed when Price William and Kate Middleton got married," said Edgerton. "It sums up a sense of festivity and of joy."

She said if the pieces all share that joyful feeling, they also have characteristics that make them stand out on their own.

The choirs will perform during Schubert's and Parry's pieces, and two soloists will perform on the Mass in G major.

Soloists are Sara Uhls, soprano; Alan Bruns, tenor; and Christian Boyd, bass, in the Mass in G major. Uhls and Boyd are vocal majors at Southeast Missouri State University; Bruns is in his ninth year as assistant principal at Cape Girardeau Central Junior High School and is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University with a bachelor's degree in music education, as well as master's and specialist's degrees in education.

Tickets for the concert may be bought online on the River Campus website, at the River Campus box office or by calling 651-2265.