Fort Hays State University’s Concert Choir and Fort Hays Singers will woo audience members with the concert “Matters of the Heart,” comprised of international selections from Africa to Israel at the fall Band and Choir Concert at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, in the Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center on the FHSU campus.
Dr. Jeff Jordan’s Wind Ensemble opens the concert, and the choirs take over after the intermission.
“The heart has its intelligence … and when it is touched, everything is understood,” said Dr. Terry Crull, director of FHSU choirs, citing his theme for the 2010-2011 concert season.
That quote, source unknown, has lived in Crull’s wallet for years. The goal, he said, is to induce an emotional response from the audience. Choir members have been inspired to not only perform the pieces, but to emote them. Crull and the choirs hope to give the listeners a glimpse into the time and setting described in the music.
True to the theme of the performance, the choirs will sing several love songs, including “I Carry Your Heart,” with words by E.E. Cummings from his poem “I Carry Your Heart With Me.”
“’I Carry Your Heart’ is very special to me,” said Crull. “It’s the truest form of a love song: Wherever I go, no matter where I am or what I am doing, I carry your love with me.”
Several gospel pieces are on the program, including “John the Revelator,” which includes clapping and a shout-ring chorus.
“The gospel pieces are very energetic and emotionally charged,” said Crull. “We have been working really hard to sing charismatically with body language and facial expressions.”
International pieces will also make a showing, including “Bashana Haba’ah,” a melancholy Hebrew song, and “Harambee,” a song in Swahili that emphases unity and working together.
Other pieces include “Two Cats,” a charming modern piece about felines; “Listen to the Mocking Bird,” a mournful American folk song; a renaissance piece titled “My Mind Thou Art Confusing;” and “I Will,” composed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, among others.
Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for seniors and students. FHSU students are admitted free with student ID, as are children 12 and under. For more information about the concert, contact the Department of Music at 785-628-4533.