Voices from the past will join Cal Poly Choirs to present their “Traditions” concert on St. Patrick’s Day this Sunday at 3 p.m. in Harold Miossi Hall at the Performing Arts Center.
In addition to Cal Poly Choirs’ resident groups — University Singers, PolyPhonics and Chamber Choir — roughly 100 alumni from the Cal Poly choral department from the last 40 years will be featured in an alumni chorus, according to a Cal Poly news release.
“I am so grateful that I was in such an amazing program,” music alumna Danna Dumandan said. “It’s such an impactful community and I’m excited to meet people from generations, from years and years before me, and see how much it influenced them as well.”
Cal Poly Professor Emeritus Thomas Davies, and Director of Choral Activities and Vocal Studies Scott Glysson will co-direct the group for four musical pieces, according to Glysson.
“This is a much more light, joyful concert and there are going to be a lot of opportunities for people to connect with other people they haven’t seen in a long time,” Glysson said.
The concert is meant to be a celebration of choral music of the past, present and future, as stated in the Cal Poly news release.
“There is going to be music of a very wide time period represented,” Glysson said.
The alumni choir will be singing what, according to Glysson, the choral world refers to as “chestnuts.” These are pieces that “have stood the test of time,” he said.
University Singers will open the concert with several works ranging from traditional to modern, including “How Lovely Are the Messengers” by Felix Mendelssohn and the gospel work “Make a Way” by Byron J. Smith. The group will be directed this quarter by guest conductor John Knutson.
The Chamber Choir and PolyPhonics will also perform several works with both groups conducted by Glysson. Paul Woodring will accompany the choirs on piano, Cal Poly Choir leaders said.
The Chamber Choir will preview sacred musical compositions and contemporary works from their upcoming “Sacred Sounds” Concert in Mission San Luis Obispo on May 25, according to Cal Poly Choir leaders, such as the mass setting “Missa O quam gloriosum” by Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611) and contemporary works by Stephen Paulus and Zanaida Robles.
PolyPhonics will perform a combined piece with the alumni choir, according to Glysson, and preview pieces from their upcoming tour of the San Francisco Bay Area, including Alberto Ginastera’s “The Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet” from 1946, Pawel Lukaszewski’s setting of “Crucem tuam adoramus,” Cecilia McDowall’s “Breaking Dawn” and Sydney Guillaume’s “Yon Monn Nuovo,” a work in Haitian Creole.
“I’m really excited for the PolyPhonics set we have this quarter, there’s some cool pieces and I’m really excited to welcome back alumni and get to perform a song with them,” Cal Poly Choirs President and PolyPhonics member Declan Galli said.
Tickets are available for purchase at pacslo.org and start at $15 for adults, $12 for Cal Poly faculty and staff and $10 for students. Event parking is at the Grand Avenue Parking Structure.