For Immediate Release: March 14, 2013 Contact: Chris Wiger, Director of Public
Relations Email: chris.wiger@du.edu Cell: (303) 489-2597
Phone: (303) 871-6499 High-res photos available
Lamont School of Music presents Carlisle Floyd's dramatic American opera
"Susannah"
DENVER -The University of Denver's Lamont Opera Theatre and Lamont Symphony Orchestra will present Carlisle Floyd's dramatic American
opera Susannah. Performances are in the Newman Center's June Swaner Gates Concert Hall on Thursday,
April 18; Friday, April 19; Saturday, April 20
at 7:30 p.m.; and on Sunday, April 21 at 2:30 p.m. All tickets are reserved seating.
The opera performances are part of the Lamont School of Music's celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Robert and Judi Newman Center for
the Performing Arts. Ticket prices range from $11 to $30 and parking is complimentary
in the Newman Center parking garage (enter from E. Wesley Ave.).
Written during the political persecutions of the McCarthy era by American composer Carlisle Floyd, the opera's libretto and music were completed
while he was a member of the piano faculty at Florida State University in Tallahassee.
This musical drama in two acts was based on Susannah and
the Elders with the heart of the opera being 18-year-old Susannah Polk, an innocent girl targeted
as a sinner by church Elders in the small rural
mountain town of New Hope Valley, Tennessee.
The opera, one of the most performed American operas – second only to Porgy and Bess, was awarded the New York Music Critics Circle Award for
Best New Opera in 1956 and was chosen to represent the United States at the Brussels
World's Fair in 1958. Susannah received its Metropolitan
Opera premiere in 1999 with Renée Fleming singing the title role, Jerry Hadley singing
Sam and Samuel Ramey singing Blitch.
In the Lamont School of Music production, the role of Susannah will be performed in alternating performances by Sarah Cambidge and Jillian Lee.
Sam will be performed by Senhica Klee and George Lemmon, and the role of Blitch by Michael Hewitt and Tim Sirinunthikul. The opera's director
is Kenneth Cox and the conductor is Lawrence Golan. The set was designed by Peter Dean Beck for Florida State Opera.
For more information and a complete list of concerts, master classes and events, please
visit the Lamont School of Music website at www.du.edu/lamont.
For updated weekly information call the Concert Line at (303) 871-6412.
To purchase tickets for Susannah, please visit the Newman Center Box Office online at www.NewmanTix.com, call (303) 871-7720, or visit the box
office in the Newman Center, open 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday – Friday, and 12
noon to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release: February 28, 2013, Contact: Chris Wiger, Director of Public Relations
Email: chris.wiger@du.edu Cell: (303) 489-2597
Phone: (303) 871-6499 High-res photos available
Lamont School of Music presents Lamont Symphony Orchestra winter season finale
Featuring the winner of the DU Solo Honors Competition
DENVER -The University of Denver's Lamont Symphony Orchestra will perform the final concert of the Lamont School of Music's winter season on
Thursday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m. The concert continues the tenth anniversary celebration
of the orchestra's home, The Robert and Judi Newman Center
for the Performing Arts.
Part of Lamont's 250 Concerts On Us free concert series, the performance in June Swaner Gates Concert Hall is free and
complimentary parking is
available. Free tickets are required for Lamont Symphony Orchestra concerts and are
available through the Newman Center Box Office.
Music Director and Conductor, Lawrence Golan has programmed Vasily Sergeyevich Kalinnikov's Symphony No. 1 in G minor (1894-95) as the concert's
major work. The symphony was first performed in Kiev, Russia to critical acclaim and
was later performed in Moscow, Berlin, Vienna and Paris during his
lifetime. The work was not published until after his death in 1901.
The concert opens with assistant conductors Kornel Thomas and Breanne Cepeda conducting Bedrich Smetana's Overture to "The Bartered Bride"
and Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, Op. 11. Lamont School of Music Artist Diploma candidate Joshua Sawicki performs as featured piano soloist
on Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26 by Sergei Prokofiev. Joshua was recently named the winner of the DU Solo Honors Competition and was
awarded the first place prize in the 2013 Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra concerto
competition.
For more information and a complete list of concerts, master classes and events, please
visit the Lamont School of Music website at www.du.edu/lamont.
For updated weekly information call the Concert Line at (303) 871-6412.
To reserve free tickets for the Lamont Symphony Orchestra performance, please contact
the Newman Center Box Office online at www.NewmanTix.com,
call 303.871.7720, or visit the box office in the Newman Center, open 10:00am to 4:00pm Monday – Friday,
and 12noon to 4:00pm Saturdays.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release: February 13, 2013, Contact: Chris Wiger, Director of Public
Relations Email: chris.wiger@du.edu Cell: (303) 489-2597
Phone: (303) 871-6499 High-res photos available
Lamont School of Music presents The Lamont Chorale and the award-winning
Spirituals Project Choir
DENVER -The University of Denver's Lamont Chorale will perform in a special Black History Month concert event with Denver's acclaimed
Spirituals
Project Choir on Tuesday, February 26 at 7:30pm. This concert will be performed in June Swaner
Gates Concert Hall at the Newman Center for the
Performing Arts on the University of Denver campus.
The performance is part of Lamont's 250 Concerts on Us series presenting free concerts celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Robert and
Judi
Newman Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are not required and parking is complimentary
in the Newman Center parking garage (enter from
E. Wesley Ave.).
The Spirituals Project Choir, an award-winning ensemble, consists of more than 70 singers. Performers come from
all walks of life and a wide range
of ages and ethnic backgrounds, but are united by their love of music and the preservation
of this American musical treasure. Directed by Artistic Director
Bennie L. Williams and Associate Choir Director LaDamion Massey,the Choir has become a favorite of the Rocky Mountain West celebrating the
traditions and legacy of African American spirituals
The Lamont Chorale, conducted by Dr. Catherine Sailer, is the University of Denver's select mixed choir that is committed to the highest
level of
artistic excellence. The 40 members of the Chorale audition at the beginning of each
quarter and have performed at national conferences, special events
and the 2012 First Presidential Debate on the campus last October. The Chorale has
also collaborated with professional orchestras and opera companies,
in addition to performing and recording a number of world premiere works.
On the program of spirituals performed by The Spirituals Project Choir and the Lamont
Chorale are I Want Jesus to Walk with Me, Hear My Prayer,
Moses Hogan Keep Your Lamps, I Don't Feel No Ways Tired, Witness, Steal Away, I Know
I've Been Changed, O Mary-Don't You Weep and There is a Balm
in Gilead.
For more information and a complete list of concerts, master classes and events, please
visit the Lamont School of Music website at www.du.edu/lamont.
For updated weekly information call the Concert Line at (303) 871-6412.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release – Wednesday, January 14, 2013, Media Contact: Chris Wiger,
Director of Public Relations, Phone: 303.871.6499, Cell: 303.489.2597,
Email: chris.wiger@du.edu, Photos available.
Lamont School of Music to feature Mayor Michael B. Hancock in a special Lamont Wind
Ensemble tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
DENVER -The University of Denver's Lamont Wind Ensemble will perform New Morning for the World: Daybreak of Freedom – inspired by the speeches of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and narrated by special guest Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock at 7:30pm on Wednesday, Jan. 30 in June Swaner Gates Concert
Hall.
The performance is part of Lamont's 250 Concerts on Us series presenting free concerts celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Robert and
Judi Newman Center
for the Performing Arts. Tickets are not required and parking is complimentary in
the Newman Center parking garage (enter from E. Wesley Ave.).
New Morning for the World: Daybreak of Freedom was written in 1982 by Joseph Schwantner as a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and was first performed by
the Eastman School of Music Philharmonia on January 15, 1983 in the Concert Hall of
the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The premiere
was narrated by Pittsburgh Pirates baseball star, Willie Stargell. Since then, the
work has been performed by major orchestras throughout the United States with
narrators Coretta Scott King, Yolanda King, James Earl Jones, Maya Angelou, Danny
Glover, Robert Guillaume, Alfre Woodard, and Vernon Jordan.
Guest narrator Michael B. Hancock was born in Fort Hood, Texas, the youngest of 10 children from an Army family that
moved to Denver when he was just 10
months old. A graduate of Denver's Manual High School, Hancock attended Hastings College
in Nebraska and later earned a master's degree in public administration
from the University of Colorado-Denver in 1995.
Hancock Michael started his career while pursuing his master's degree, working at
both the Denver Housing Authority and National Civic League. He joined Metro
Denver's Urban League affiliate in 1995 as program director before being named president
in 1999, becoming the youngest President of an Urban League chapter in
America.
In 2003, Hancock was elected to represent Denver City Council's District 11. He served
two terms as council president from 2006-08, and became Denver's 45th mayor
in July 2011. His strategy for making government more efficient, effective and customer-service
oriented laid the ground work for his plan to transform Denver into a
"Smart City" that is innovative and intentional, particularly with regard to jobs,
kids and safety.
Mayor Hancock is the proud father of three children — Alayna, Jordan and Janae — and
he and his wife, Mary, have been married for 19 years after first meeting in
middle school.
For more information and a complete list of concerts, master classes and events, please
visit the Lamont School of Music website at www.du.edu/lamont. For
updated weekly information call the Concert Line at (303) 871-6412.
To purchase tickets or reserve free tickets, please visit the Newman Center Box Office
online at www.NewmanTix.com, call (303) 871-7720, or visit the box office
in the Newman Center, open 10:00am to 4:00pm Monday – Friday, and 12noon to 4:00pm
on Saturday.
For more, updated information please visit our web calendar.
Call our Concert Line at 303.871.6412 for a weekly list of events.
For ticket information visit the Newman Center Box Office online or call 303.871.7720
The Robert and Judi Newman Center for the Performing Arts is located on the University of Denver campus at 2344 East Iliff Avenue, Denver, CO 80208
