Tillamook student joins choir trip to New York to sing at 9/11 memorial concert
September 5, 2011
Nathan Casteel of Tillamook is among the George Fox University Concert Choir members who will travel to New York City this month to sing at "A
Concert of Commemoration," a memorial event commemorating the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, on Sunday, Sept. 11.
The choir will join with an additional 150 singers and soloists to perform Rene Clausen's "Memorial," composed to honor the memory of those who lost their lives in the attacks. George Fox is among a group of choirs, billed as Distinguished Concerts Singers International, that will perform Clausen's piece.
The concert, which begins at 2 p.m. in the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' Avery Fisher Hall, will feature pieces composed by Clausen and Karl Jenkins. Both composers will direct their pieces.
The George Fox choir received an invitation to participate after event organizers saw a video of the choir singing "Kyrie," a portion of "Memorial," on YouTube. An e-mail was sent to conductor Loren Wenz, inviting the group to come to New York to participate in a performance of "Memorial." George Fox will send 40 students from its Concert Choir to New York.
"The George Fox University chorus received this invitation because of the quality and high level of musicianship demonstrated by the singers," said Dr. Jonathan Griffith, artistic director and principal conductor of the event. "This is an event of extreme pride for everybody and deserving of the community's recognition and support."
Wenz said the choir was selected based on the high recommendation of his colleagues, the choir's long-standing reputation of musical excellence, and its outstanding performance of "Kyrie" in the fall of 2010.
"It is quite an honor just to be invited to perform in Fisher Hall, especially in light of this important performance," Wenz said. "These talented and committed wonderful musicians not only represent a high quality of music and education, but they also become ambassadors for the community."
To view a performance of the George Fox choir singing "Kyrie," visit blogs.georgefox.edu/life/?p=582.
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