The Denison University Concert Choir will conclude its 109th season with "An Evening with Amadeus." This performance of five works by Mozart will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday (April 21) in Swasey Chapel. The concert features orchestral accompaniments as well as four soloists - soprano Abra Kathleen Bush, mezzo soprano Diane Pulte, tenor Eric Johnston and baritone Barton Gilleland. Conducting will be Distinguished Professor of Fine Arts William Osborne, who also serves Denison as director of choral organizations and University organist. The performance is free and open to the public.

The concert will open with three of the one-movement sonatas for strings and organ created by Mozart for presentation between readings of the lessons during celebration of the Mass in the Salzburg Cathedral. Several of the organ parts are elaborate enough that they resemble miniature concertos. The organ will be played by G. Dene Barnard, organist and choirmaster of the First Congregational Church in Columbus. Other works include the "Solemn Vespers for Sunday," a colorful series of psalm settings performed by the choir and soloists, and the "Mass in C major," often nicknamed the "Credo" Mass because of Mozart's constant reassertion of "Credo," or "I believe," in his response to the words of the Nicene Creed.

Bush holds degrees from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and is presently completing work on a doctorate at Ohio State. She serves as an adjunct instructor of voice at Kenyon College and has had wide experience on the opera stage at Ohio State and with Opera Columbus.

Pulte is a doctoral candidate at Ohio State, and serves on the faculties of Kenyon, Muskingum and Otterbein Colleges. She has performed with the Dallas Opera, Opera Columbus and the Columbus Light Opera.

Johnston has enjoyed extensive experience on the stage, having played roles for Opera Columbus, the Columbus Light Opera and the opera program at Ohio State, as well as the Lake George and Chautauqua Opera Companies. He also has appeared as a soloist with the Columbus, Chautauqua, Ohio State and Welsh Hills Symphonies.

Gilleland has been involved with the Opera Columbus Education and Outreach program and has visited nearly 100 schools across central Ohio. He recently appeared as a soloist in the first performances of Susan Kandler's "Somebody's Children," a one-act opera commissioned by Opera Columbus and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

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