GRANVILLE - The Singers and The Early Interval will collaborate in a seasonal program titled "A (Mostly) Renaissance Christmas" to be held at 3 p.m., Sunday (Dec. 8) in Burke Recital Hall. The concert will be conducted by Distinguished Professor of Fine Arts William Osborne and is free and open to the public.

The 2002-03 Denison Singers

The program will consist of a variety of music from England, the Netherlands, France, and Spain and will include anthems and motets by Byrd, Ramsey, Josquin, Hassler, Sweelinck, and Victoria. A group of medieval English carols and three Spanish villancicos will also be performed. The concert will conclude with familiar partsongs by Praetorious, Costeley, and Morley. While these pieces will be presented employing various groupings of voices and instruments, The Early Interval will also perform two groups of purely instrumental pieces from the Middle Ages and Renaissance, mostly by French composers.

"A (Mostly) Renaissance Christmas" will also be performed in Springfield at 4 p.m. Saturday (Dec. 7) at Christ Episcopal Church, 409 East High Street.

William Osborne

Since its founding in 1961, The Denison Singers choir has presented more than 550 performances in 24 states, as well as on 11 foreign tours that have taken them across Europe and to Venezuela. The group plans to tour again in May 2003, singing eight concerts in cities ranging from Amsterdam to Paris. They have made radio and television programs and have worked with members of the Columbus Symphony, the Bergonzi String Quartet, and the Denison jazz faculty, in addition to pop singer Andy Williams and The Chieftains at seasonal concerts in Columbus. Osborne serves as the Singers' founding conductor and is also Director of Choral Organizations and University Organist.

The Early Interval was formed by director Ron Cook in 1976 and has since established a repertory that spans the five centuries from 1150 to 1650, frequently using more than 50 instruments in a single concert. The group has been the resident ensemble on Capital University's "Early Music in Columbus" series and has also established a tradition with its annual January Twelfth Night presentations at the Pontifical College Josephinum. In addition, The Early Interval is on the touring artists' roster of the Ohio Arts Council and has performed across Ohio and into surrounding states. Many of its concerts are regularly broadcast on WOSU-FM's "Music in Mid-Ohio" series. It has issued two recordings as well: "British Journey" and "Music for a Twelfth Night Celebration." The group's three earlier collaborations with The Denison Singers include a staged version of a madrigal comedy by Adriano Banchieri, which was also presented at a regional conference of the American Choral Directors Association in Cleveland.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

Position Title

Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

Business Phone

(740) 587-8575