Roman Holiday: Wheaton Chorale goes to Italy
February 13, 2001
As a prelude to their upcoming tour of Italy, the Wheaton Chorale will present their Italy Send-Off Concert on Sunday, February 25. Under the direction of Tim Harbold, the Chorale will perform a varied program including Renaissance works, songs celebrating Wheaton's heritage, and songs of the American landscape, including Shaker songs and spirituals.
In their Italy Send-Off Concert, the Chorale presents the program for their upcoming concerts in Florence and Rome. The varied program reflects the multiple purposes of the tour: music of the Renaissance will give students the opportunity to sing classics of western music in their intended cultural and architectural environment; songs by American women and musical settings of poetry by Elizabeth Wright Shippee (Wheaton Class of 1937) will celebrate Wheaton's heritage and its history as a liberal arts college for women; and a variety of American folk songs, Shaker songs,and spirituals will give Italian audiences a glimpse of the landscape of America's own musical history.
The Chorale's tour group of 36 singers, instrumentalists and chaperones will travel to Italy during Wheaton's spring break, from Mar. 10-17, 2001. Italian performances include concerts at Santa Maria Dei Ricci in Florence, just down the street from the Duomo, and at S. Giorgio al Velabro in Rome, close to the Forum and Capitoline Hill.
In Rome, the Chorale will share the program with the award winning Coro Citta' di Roma (City Chorus of Rome), under the direction of Maestro Mauro Marchetti. The program will offer Wheaton students formal and informal opportunities to interact with musicians of Italy. Other stops on the tour include Venice, San Gimignano, and Assisi.
For further information or for black and white photographs of the Wheaton Chorale, please contact the Wheaton College Music Department at 508-286-3570.The concert will be performed in Wheaton's Cole Chapel at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 25.
Donations toward the Italy tour will be gratefully accepted.For directions to Wheaton, go to www.wheatoncollege.edu/about/directions or call 508-286-5602.
