(Posted March 23, 2009)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- The Juniata College Concert Choir will perform traditional and spiritual choral classics, as well as vocal arrangements of songs from such indigenous cultures as Australian, Africa, Polynesia and India, in concert at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 28, in Rosenberger Auditorium in the Halbritter Center for the Performing Arts.

The concert, which marks a homecoming concert for the ensemble from their spring break tour of France, is free and open to the public.

The choir is directed by Russell Shelley, Elma Stine Heckler Associate Professor of Music at Juniata.

The concert opens with some classic choral arrangements, including "In the Beginning, God," "O Sing Joyfully," "Canticurum Jubilo" from "Joshua," by Georg F. Handel, "Libera Me," "and "Gaudete" from "Two Medieval Lyrics."

The music continues with "Allon Gay Bergeres," "O Quan Amabilis Es" and "Notre Pere."

The program will shift to showcase classic American spirituals, such as "In My Mind," "Hard Times Come Again No More," "The Road Home," "She's Like the Swallow," and "Big Sky."

The concert's second half will open with "Awake My Heart to Sing," "Bogoroditse Djevo" and "Cantate cum gaudio."

The choir will perform a series of multicultural selections, including "Jambo rafiki yangu," sung in Swahili, "Tunggare," an Aboriginal song, "La'u Lupe," a Samoan song, and "Dravidian Dithyramb," an Indian selection.

The concert will conclude with more spiritual selections, including "Weeping Mary" from "The Social Harp," "You Better Min' How You Talk," "My God is a Rock" and "Set Me as a Seal."
The Juniata Concert Choir is one of three choirs performing at the college. The 50-person choir tours every spring semester, focusing its program on historical sacred music. Juniata choirs have performed at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., and St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.

The choir also tours internationally almost every year. Past tours have taken the ensemble to Appalachian states in the southern United States in 2008, Trinidad and Tobago in 2007and Mexico in 2006.


Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.