Wheaton College Artist Series continues with Jan. 24 concert
The Wheaton College Artist Series continues this month with tenor Ian Bostridg and guitarist Xuefei Yang.
The Artist Series evenings feature world-renowned performers showcasing their musical expressions in Edman Chapel. Plan to enhance the evening experience by attending "Grace Notes," the free preconcert conversation before each main series event.
The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, at Edman Chapel, 401 E. Franklin Ave. in Wheaton.
Internationally acclaimed British tenor Ian Bostridge and Chinese classical guitarist Xuefei Yang began their collaboration in 2014 with the recording, "Songs from Our Ancestors."
This collaboration knits together a diverse array of composers and styles to represent the duo's respective musical cultures.
The program features music by John Dowland, Benjamin Britten, Franz Schubert and many others.
Xuefei Yang's 2015-16 solo appearance on the Artist Series was a season favorite.
Tickets are $45, $40 for seniors, age 60 or older, or $10 for youth.
To purchase tickets or for more information, visit wheaton.edu/ArtistSeries or call (630) 752-5010.
The Artist Series continues in February with The Real Group, an a cappella jazz group from Sweden. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, in Edman Chapel. General admission is $20.
On Friday, Feb. 21, the Wheaton College Choirs will perform "Lux Aeterna" at 7:30 p.m. in Edman Chapel. Ticket prices range from $10 to $45.
"Lux Aeterna" is a work of art set apart from any other. It draws upon sacred choral chants paired with organ to invite the listener into spiritual conversation. This epic performance will feature Jerry Blackstone conducting the Wheaton College Choirs with organist Nicole Simental. To hear "Lux Aeterna" live with composer Morten Lauridsen present is to experience history in the making.
Lauridsen is an American composer whose internationally beloved work was completed in 1997 for the Los Angeles Master Chorale. "Lux Aeterna" is in five movements and its texts are drawn from sacred Latin sources. Grammy Award winner Jerry Blackstone is a leading conductor and educator. He received two Grammy Awards as chorusmaster for the critically acclaimed Naxos recording of William Bolcom's "Songs of Innocence and of Experience."
The Wheaton College Artist Series will wrap up its spring season on Saturday, March 21, with the Langston Hughes Project's "Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz." The performance, starring the Ron McCurdy Quartet, begins at 7:30 p.m. in Edman Chapel.
Iconic American author Langston Hughes wrote "Ask Your Mama - 12 Moods for Jazz" as a commentary on the struggles of the African-American community. In addition to his rhythmic prose, Hughes included musical notations but never created a musical score.
McCurdy developed these notes into 12 jazz pieces to be performed alongside the reading of the poem. Drawing from blues and Dixieland, gospel songs, Boogie Woogie, bebop and progressive jazz, Latin "cha-cha" and Afro-Cuban mambo music, German lieder, Jewish liturgy, West Indian calypso and African drumming, this performance is sure to excite and inspire! Tickets are $10 to $45.