The Fairfield University Glee Club: Father John P. Murray, S.J. / Dr. Simon Harak Memorial Concert | Press Releases

65th Anniversary Celebration
8 p.m., Saturday, April 21, 2012
Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts

The Fairfield University Glee Club presents the 65th anniversary celebration of the Father John P. Murray, S.J. / Dr. Simon Harak Memorial Concert at 8 p.m., Saturday, April 21, 2012 at Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. The concert features musical performances by The Fairfield University Glee Club and the Fairfield University Chamber Singers conducted by Carole Ann Maxwell, D.S.M., with accompanist Beth Palmer, and the Reverend Charles H. Allen S.J., Chaplain. Guest Conductor is Michael A. Ciavaglia '04. Also performing are Sweet Harmony , an all-female ensemble of chamber singers directed by Nicole Raposo and Lindsey Gorgol, the Bensonians , an all-male a cappella group directed by Robert Preli, and the Singing Alumni . Tickets are $10.

The concert will feature welcoming remarks from Reverend Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J., President, Fairfield University, and a program that includes "Viva la Musica!" by Ivan Erod (b.1936); "The Last Words of David" by Randall Thompson (1899-1984); "Ave Maria" by Franz Biebl (1906-2001); "Praising Song" by Marvin Curtis; "God So Loved the World" from "The Crucifixion" by John Stainer (1840-1901); "Celebration" from "Standing Stone" by Sir Paul McCartney (b. 1942); and "Down by the Riverside" by John Rutter (arr. b. 1945). The program also includes Chichester Psalms , composed in three movements by Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), each movement containing the full text of one Psalm and an extract from another. Opening the concert will be "Hail Stag of Fairfield," "The Men in Red," and "The Fairfield University Alma Mater.

The Fairfield University Glee Club , founded in 1947, is the oldest club on the Fairfield University campus. The members share a deep love for music and a common desire to achieve excellence in it. The Glee Club numbers over 120 undergraduate and graduate singers. Their voices explore a wide variety of repertoire, experiencing diverse styles of music and enriching audiences with programming that challenges and inspires. The Glee Club's 65th Season included a tour of Italy in March, 2012, and a performance at The Vatican. The Fairfield University Chamber Singers is the first mixed choir on campus. Founded in 1982 by Dr. Maxwell and Dr. Orin Grossman, it is an ensemble of auditioned singers, whose advanced repertoire, both sacred and secular, has lead to a wide acclaim in the area. It was the Chamber Singers that provided the foundation for the Fairfield University Glee Club of today. In 1987 the University Choirs merged under the direction of Dr. Carole Ann Maxwell.

The Fairfield University Choirs, under the direction of Dr. Carole Ann Maxwell, have presented concerts in churches, schools, recital and concert halls throughout Europe, singing from Galway to Rome, from Florence to London, Prague, Vienna and Budapest. They have been heard in a number of prestigious concert sites, including Carnegie Hall, the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., Westminster and Southward Cathedrals in London, the Aula Paolo VI at the Vatican, the United States Military Academies at Annapolis and West Point, and Disneyworld. The Glee Club has also premiered several contemporary choral works written especially for the Club by composer Gwyneth Walker, Randol Alan Bass, Marvin Curtis, and Marty Haugen.

Dr. Carole Ann Maxwell has served as Director of Choral and Liturgical Music for Fairfield University since 1980. She has prepared and conducted choruses all over the world, and she extends her commitment to bring exceptional choral music to singers and audience members throughout Fairfield County. Dr. Maxwell has been the Conductor of the Summer Festival Chorus at the Quick Center for the Arts since its inception 16 years ago and has been the artistic director of The Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut since its inception in 1984.

Tickets are available through the Quick Center Box Office: (203) 254-4010, or toll-free 1-877-ARTS-396 (1-877-278-7396). Tickets can also be purchased online at http://www.fairfield.edu/quick .