South Bend Chamber Singers present “American Landscapes – From the Great Lakes to the Wild West”

The South Bend Chamber Singers, along with Penn High School’s select chamber choir, Viva Voce, present American Landscapes: from the Great Lakes to the Wild West on Sunday, May 21 at 7:30 p.m. at Saint Mary’s College O’Laughlin Auditorium. The concert features texts by American poets set to music by American composers Libby Larsen, Gwyneth Walker, and Z. Randall Stroope.

Featured guest composer Gwyneth Walker’s new work, The Great Lakes, is a musical journey across the magnificent 5 lakes bordering the Eastern US and Canada. Texts by American and Canadian poets make up the cantata’s lyrics. The journey moves from East (Lake Ontario) to West (Lake Superior), stopping to explore the unique character of each lake en route. Libby Larsen’s The Settling Years is a 3-part collection based on poetry by American pioneers. The texts are full of a kind of raw energy, swashbuckling attitude, and profundity of heart and commitment characteristic of those settlers west of the Hudson. Z. Randall Stroope’s Northwest Passage is a set of 3 “poetic landscapes” that reflect on 3 elements of the great Northwest of the United States—rivers, mountains, and prairies—each distinct, but part of one vast expanse.

Larsen’s piece features an accompaniment for woodwind quintet and piano. Walker’s piece is originally composed for large orchestra, but she has transcribed it for wind sextet, piano and percussion for this concert. Stroope’s piece is for woodwind quintet and string quartet, but he has transcribed the string parts for piano for this concert, which will feature talented woodwind players from the area.

Purchase tickets at: saintmarys.edu/events or call (574) 284-4625. For more information visit: southbendchambersingers.org