Columbus harpist Jean Norton will join The Denison Singers for a seasonal program of works to open The Singers' 41st season at 8 p.m. on Wednesday (Dec. 5) in Burke Recital Hall. Other featured musicians include flutist LeeAnn Dickson, a first year student at Denison, guitarist Stuart Lightfoot and percussionist Julie Licata, both from Capital University. Distinguished Professor of Fine Arts William Osborne will conduct the concert. Osborne is the group's founder and also serves Denison as the director of choral organizations and University organist. The concert is free and open to the public.

The evening will open with three Christmas villancicos, arranged for chorus, harp, flute and percussion by Ben Allaway. The Singers will also perform Conrad Susa's "Carols and Lullabies: Christmas in the Southwest," a colorful series of 10 movements featuring carols of great variety with texts in Spanish and Catalan. Susa's instrumentation includes not only the harp, but also the guitar, marimba and vibraphone.

The program continues with the "Jesu Carols" of Stephen Paulus, a combination of four striking European poems dating from the 13th to the 16th centuries, and will conclude with a group of familiar carols arranged for chorus, harp and flute by Jackson Berkey, Dale Warland and Dale Wood.

Over the first four decades of its existence, The Denison Singers has become Denison's most prominent musical ensemble, particularly through tours which have taken the group across the country as well as on 11 foreign tours. The Singers has also worked with members of the Columbus Symphony, the Bergonzi String Quartet, the Chieftans and pop singer Andy Williams.

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

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(740) 587-8575