"Live From Italy," a performance in Granville of a concert program recently presented in Florence, Milan and Venice by the Denison Chamber Singers and Chamber Orchestra, will include works by both Italian and American composers plus the newest work by Assistant Professor Ching-chu Hu, "Amor." The concert will be at 3 p.m. on Sunday (Jan. 29) in Burke Recital Hall and is free and open to the public.

Some 40 Denison student members of the choir and orchestra joined Associate Professor Bonnie Borshay Sneed, coordinator of choral activities and coordinator of the tour, Associate Professor Andy Carlson, director and concertmaster of the orchestra, Assistant Professor Nicholas del Grazia, clarinet soloist, and Hu, composer, on this week-long tour.

In addition to playing the world premier of "Amor," with Hu as the string bass player, the Chamber Orchestra performed Mozart's "Clarinet Concerto in A major, K 622, featuring del Grazia as the soloist. The choir performed a varied repertoire including several sacred pieces (Monteverdi's "Beatus Vir," Eric Whitacre's "Lux aurumque," and Sweelinck's "Venite, Exultemus Domino") plus two madrigals in Italian and several American choral pieces ranging from "America the Beautiful" to "Embraceable You" and the spiritual "My Soul is a River." The "Homecoming" concert will include these works plus several others.

During the tour, the choir and orchestra played at Chiesa di S. Stefano al Ponte in Florence, the Chiesa Ognissanti in Venice and at the Duomo, the Gothic cathedral which dominates the city's center, in Milan. There were also several impromptu performances. At the Chiesa di Frari, where Monteverdi is buried, the choir performed his motet standing by his tomb. Students also took the opportunities presented to view Michelangelo's "David" and da Vinci's "Last Supper," to tour the Guggenheim Museum of Modern Art in Venice, and to decide that "gelato," a smooth Italian ice cream, was their favorite food.

Calendar Listing:

CALENDAR LISTING: Denison University, Granville -- "Live From Italy," a performance of the recent tour program repertoire by the Denison Chamber Choir and Chamber Orchestra; 3 p.m., Sunday (Jan. 29), Burke Recital Hall. Free and open to the public. Call 740-587-6220 to confirm information.

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:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

Position Title

Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

Business Phone

(740) 587-8575