The Denison Singers, with a performing history that covers 42 years, will extend that history a bit with a concert at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 25, in Swasey Chapel during a reunion weekend. The concert is free and open to the public. Founded in 1961 as an informal group to study the Renaissance madrigal tradition for their own pleasure, the repertory quickly expanded and the group was concertizing and touring by 1963.

There were 260 Denison students who participated in the group during its 42-year history. This reunion, the first on campus since 2003, will include Singers from two dozen states and England, representing nearly 25% of the living alumni with known addresses. They span the years from its founding to its ending. The concert will include works chosen by the participants, as well as new pieces created for the event.

The concert will open with American Norman Dello Joio's "A Jubilant Song," a vibrant setting of words by Walt Whitman. It will continue with Benjamin Britten's "Festival Te Deum" and new works by Clifford Davis '72 of Mount Vernon, R. Michael Daugherty '72 of Jacksonville, N.C., and Michael Fauss '71 of Atlanta. Scott Joplin's ragtime opera, "Treemonisha," Samuel Barber's "The Coolun," and Aaron Copland's familiar adaptation of "Ching-a-ring Chaw" will follow with a group of lively Elizabethan madrigals from the pens of Thomas Weelkes, Thomas Vautor and Thomas Morley taking the group back to its roots and concluding the program.

The Singers will be assisted by pianists Meredith Needham '78 ofand Susan Billin '69 of Moscow, Idaho, and organist David Damschroder '75 of Minneapolis. Vocal soloists from the ranks of the returning Singers also will be featured.

As he did during the life of the group, William Osborne, distinguished professor of fine arts emeritus, will conduct. Now music director of the Piedmont Chamber Singers in Winston-Salem, N.C., Osborne looks forward to this 583rd performance by the Denison Singers. In 2004, a large contingent of Singers traveled to Osborne's new home town to participate in an arts festival sponsored by Augsburg Lutheran Church, perform at a wedding and at church services. While back inOsborne also will give a lecture on Wednesday, June 21, on the history of music performances in Granville as part of the lecture series associated with the new three-volume history of Granville produced by the Granville Historical Society.

The Singers have performed in 24 states, the District of Columbia, and 18 European countries and Venezuela on a dozen foreign trips. The Singers also collaborated several times with The Early Interval, members of the Columbus Symphony and Dancentral, and also assisted pop singer Andy Williams and The Chieftains in their holiday programs in Columbus.

Calendar Listing:

CALENDAR LISTING: Denison University, Granville -- Reunion Concert by The Denison Singers, 1:30 p.m., Sunday (June 25), Swasey Chapel (300 Chapel Drive). Free and open to the public. Contact 740-587-6266 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:

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Barbara Stambaugh

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(740) 587-8575