KC choir presents concert of witty and humorous music

The Kilgore College Choirs will present a fall semester concert titled "A Lighthearted Look at Lif " on Thursday, Oct. 16, at KC's Van Cliburn Auditorium.

Ryan Kelly, director of chorale activities, said the concert will feature two of the college's ensembles, Chorale and Camerata Singers, in a performance of choral music by famous American composers Dominick Argento, Aaron Copland and Charles Ives, interspersed with selections by Haydn, Rutter, Whitacre and others.

Kelly said the concert will be structured around music with whimsical and humorous texts.

"My desire was to offer audiences a concert opportunity to smile and laugh," said Kelly. "Music is a wonderful medium by which we can share fanciful and capricious stories about life's experiences. Audiences will leave the concert feeling refreshed."

Among some of the texts being performed are those by poets John Keats, Ogden Nash, Robert Herrick and William Blake.

Kelly said the KC Chorale is a mixed ensemble of more than 40 college freshmen and sophomore singers, while Camerata Singers is a chamber choir of 15 singers. At the concert, the auditioned choirs will demonstrate not only musical prowess, but also linguistic expertise; in addition to English, select pieces will be performed in their original Spanish, German, French and Yiddish. Camerata Singers will also give a worldpremiere performance of "Cherry-Ripe!" composed by director Kelly.

The Van Cliburn Auditorium is located in the Anne Dean Turk Fine Arts Center. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free and open seating will begin at 7. For more information about the concert, please contact music department assistant Renee Golden at 903-983-8146.