W&L Music Presents Fall Choral Concert The Oct. 22 performance will feature W&L’s University Singers, Glee Club and Cantatrici.

By Emily Innes
October 8, 2024

Washington and Lee University presents the Fall Choral Concert on Tuesday, Oct. 22, at 8 p.m. in Wilson Concert Hall in the Lenfest Center for the Arts. The performance will feature W&L’s University Singers, Glee Club and Cantatrici.

The performance is free, but tickets are required and available online. The event will also be streamed online at https://go.wlu.edu/livestream.

The program will take the audience on a wide-ranging musical journey, led by conductors Shane Lynch, professor of music and director of choral activities; Lacey Lynch, lecturer of music; and student members of the Choral Conducting Mentorship Program (CCMP).

The concert will open with a capella classics from around the world, including Cantatrici singing the spirited Cuban text of “Sigue” and the Glee Club performing the raucous “In Taberna” from Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.” Works by Morten Lauridsen, Shih Ching-Ju and Stacey V. Gibbs will follow, and Cantatrici and the Glee Club will take the stage together to perform the Islamic chant “Zikr,” by renowned Indian composer A.H. Rahman. The first half of the program will conclude with Jacob Naverud’s touching “Lunar Lullaby,” performed with staging, lighting and an original dance choreographed and performed by Elise McPherson ’26, a member of both the University Singers and the W&L Repertory Dance Company.

The award-winning University Singers will take the stage for the second half of the program, opening with Blake Wilson’s “Cædmon’s Hymn,” Jos Eberlin’s new setting of “Ave Maria, Gratia Plena,” and Heinrich Schutz’s “Singet dem Herrn.” The ensemble will also preview two movements from “Mass — A Celebration of Love and Joy,” composed by André Thomas, who will visit Lexington and conduct this piece in memory of Lexington resident Robert Glidden at Grace Episcopal Church on Nov. 9, performed by singers from Southern Virginia University, Grace Episcopal Church and the Rockbridge Youth Chorale.

Traditional favorites will round out the evening, closing with James Erb’s “Shenandoah.”

Order your tickets online today or call the Lenfest Center box office at 540-458-8000 for ticket purchase information. Box office hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.