The Fairfield University Glee Club presents Mozart Meets Motown | Press Releases

8 p.m., Saturday, April 20, 2013

Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts
Tickets: $10 general admission; $6 students

The Fairfield University Glee Club with Festival Orchestra presents Mozart Meets Motown at 8 p.m., Saturday, April 20, 2013, at Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. The program ranges from classical works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to popular hits and songs related to the "Motown" era. The concert features performances by The Fairfield University Glee Club conducted by Carole Ann Maxwell, D.S.M., with accompanist Beth Palmer, and the Reverend Charles H. Allen S.J., Chaplain, as well as by Glee Club members in a variety of collaborations. Also performing are The Bensonians, an all-male a cappella group directed by Robert Preli, Sweet Harmony , an all-female ensemble of chamber singers directed by Lindsey Gorgol, Nicole Raposo, and Diana Lordi, and the Chamber Singers under the direction of Dr. Maxwell. Tickets: $10; Students: $6.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg in 1776. The works in the concert include pieces he wrote there for the Duke Archbishop's Court Orchestra. The Archbishop of Salzburg at the time, Hieronymus Franz Josef von Colloredo, insisted on short and uncomplicated music to accompany his religious services. "That Mozart did not fully agree with his patron's wishes is no surprise given the nature of the composer's exploratory nature and inherent genius," said Dr. Carole Ann Maxwell, "but it is it significant that much of the music composed during his time in Salzburg did attempt to mildly conform to the specifications of the Archbishop." The Mozart works being performed include "Kyrie and Sanctus" from Missa Brevis, K.220; "Dixit" from Vesperae solennes de confessore, K.339, and Regina Coeli K.276 .

Motown Records , established in 1959 in Detroit, Michigan, was a record label that forever changed the musical landscape of America. Producing and recording chart topping soul, R&B, and pop hit classics, the label featured hit-making stars like Martha and the Vandellas, Smokey Robinson, Michael Jackson, The Temptations, Diana Ross and The Supremes, and Gladys Knight, to name a few. They all became part of what would be known as the Motown Sound. The program includes Lionel Richie's "All Night Long," Kid Rock's "Detroit Michigan" and "Home" from "The Wiz."

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 130 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 66th season will find the singers in concerts in Philadelphia and New York. The Glee Club's next European Tour will be to Prague and Berlin in March 2014. The Glee Club is the parent organization of two additional choral ensembles: Sweet Harmony and The Bensonians.

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, have led to a wide acclaim in the area.

The combined 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 Disney World. 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 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 www.quickcenter.com .