UIS Music Program presents Spring Showcase Concert

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Music Program presents its annual Spring Showcase Concert featuring performances by the UIS chorus, chamber orchestra, band, and this year’s UIS Music Soloist Competition Winner. The performance is free and open to the public.

WHEN: Friday, May 1, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Studio Theatre, located in the Public Affairs Center at UIS

DETAILS: The event will feature a wide array of music including songs by Lorde and The Young Authors, a piece inspired by American involvement in the Vietnam War, and Christina Shao, winner of the second annual UIS Music Soloist Competition, will play a solo on a Chinese Guzheng.

Directed by UIS Assistant Professor Yona Stamatis, the chamber orchestra will open the showcase with “Slavonic Dance No. 3” by Antonin Dvorak. They will also perform Saint Saens’ “Dance of the Gypsy” and Aaron Copland’s “Hoe-down” from Rodeo.

The chorus, under the direction of Melinda Pitt Kaye, will open the choral portion of the program with “Five Hebrew Love Songs” by Eric Whitacre.

Finally, UIS Applied Music Specialist, Abigail Walsh will lead the band through selections including “American Sketches” by Barry Kopetz and “The Boys of the Old Brigade” by W. Paris Chambers.

Donations are welcome and will be used to benefit the UIS Music Student Merit Award. The UIS Music program began in 2001 and is comprised of students, faculty, staff and alumni, as well as Springfield community members, all with a variety of skill levels.

Anyone who is interested in joining the UIS chorus, band or chamber orchestra may contact Abigail Walsh at 217/206-7549 or music@uis.edu.