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For Immediate Release
April 11, 2003
NEBRASKA WESLEYAN, YORK HIGH SCHOOL
CHOIRS SCHEDULE APRIL 27 PERFORMANCE IN YORK
LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska Wesleyan University
and York High School Choir will present an afternoon of music on
Sunday, April 27.
The concert will begin at 4 p.m. at East Avenue
United Methodist Church, located at 800 East Avenue in York. It
is free and open to the public.
The York High School Choir is under the direction
of Janelle Reetz, a graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan University.
The Nebraska Wesleyan University Choir completed
a winter tour in January, which included 12 concerts in Nebraska,
Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Kansas.
The Choir received 10 standing ovations on its tour.
The Choir will perform a concert of literature that
is culturally and ethnically diverse mixing early and contemporary
classic repertoire. The ethnic selections feature African, Nigerian,
Australian, and Tibetan rhythms and melodies. Songs will include
an African processional titled “E Oru O,” a Nigerian
folk song titled “Let Your Voice Be Heard,” which will
be sung by the men in the University Choir. The song includes a
children’s clapping game. Other selections will include the
piece “Walking Song,” written by Ben Allaway, an Iowa
composer. The song is dedicated to the Dahli Lama and includes both
vocal and instrumental sounds of Australian, African, and Tibetan
cultures. In addition, excerpts from Haydn’s “The Creation”
will be performed.
The Nebraska Wesleyan University Choir is a select
ensemble with a long history of excellence. Under the direction
of Dr. William A. Wyman, the Choir has appeared in East and West
Europe, England and Scotland, Asia and South America in seven international
concert tours. In February 1999, the Choir became the first collegiate
choir from Nebraska ever selected to perform at the American Choral
Directors Association (ACDA) National Convention. The Choir has
since made five ACDA appearances. In 1995, the Choir took part in
the “Lincoln at Lincoln Center” concert at the prestigious
Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall in New York City.
The Choir will appear in a concert series with the
Lincoln Symphony Orchestra in February.
Wyman, a member of the Nebraska Wesleyan faculty
since 1975, has served as a clinician or guest conductor throughout
the country, and at ACDA conventions. He also chaired the 1996 ACDA
Convention in Lincoln. In 1996, the Nebraska Choral Directors Association
selected Wyman as the Outstanding Choral Director of the Year. In
1983-84, he won a prestigious Fulbright Scholar Appointment to Seoul
National University in the Republic of Korea. Wyman’s choirs
have been critically acclaimed throughout the United States and
internationally, and his is listed in Who’s Who in the Midwest
in American Music.
Andrew Spady of York is a member of the Nebraska
Wesleyan University Choir.
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