Cal Poly Choirs to Present ‘Sacred Sounds’ Concert in Mission San Luis Obispo on May 23

Contact: Michele Abba
805-756-2406; mabba@calpoly.edu 

Cantabile and the Chamber Choir will perform sacred choral music from the last 600 years

SAN LUIS OBISPO — Two Cal Poly choirs — Cantabile and Chamber Choir — will present a concert titled “Sacred Sounds” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 23, in Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa.

The concert, which was rescheduled from a weekend day, will feature a vast array of music from the sacred choral tradition, spanning more than 600 years. The mission is at 751 Palm St.

The Chamber Choir will perform Guillaume Dufay’s “Nuper rosarum flores,” which is the oldest piece in the concert and one of the most famous in vocal music history. It was composed in 1436 for the consecration of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy, the fourth largest church in the world. The piece represents a triumph of mathematical proportion and musical aesthetic, considered by some to be among the first in the Renaissance style of the 15th and 16th centuries.

The choir will also give a rare performance of Tomás Luis de Victoria’s “Missa O quam gloriosum” in its entirety. It has become the most loved and performed of the composer’s masses. The modern works to be presented include Arvo Pärt’s hauntingly beautiful “Magnificat” as well as a modern gospel setting of “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” arranged by Zanaida Stewart Robles.

Cantabile, a 70-voice treble chorus, will sing several movements from Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s celebrated “Stabat Mater,” featuring solos by Music Department voice instructor Kaitrin Cunningham; graduating senior music major Melissa Scarpelli of Chico, California; and Erika Foreman (Music, ’23) of Santa Barbara, who will earn her master’s in business administration in June. Knut Nystedt’s “Hosanna” and Ola Gjeilo’s “Song of the Universal,” which is set to text by Walt Whitman, are the contemporary works the group will perform.

A small string ensemble of Cal Poly students and local professionals will join Cantabile for its set. The choirs are conducted by Scott Glysson, Cal Poly director of choral activities and vocal studies, and will be accompanied by staff accompanist Paul Woodring.

Tickets to the concert are $20 general and $10 students. Tickets can be purchased from the Cal Poly Ticket Office between noon and 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. To order by phone, call 805-SLO-4TIX (805-756-4849). The Music Department offers a 20% discount to patrons who buy season tickets to four of its events through the Cal Poly Ticket Office.

The concert is sponsored by Cal Poly’s Music Department, College of Liberal Arts and Instructionally Related Activities program.

For more information, visit the Music Department’s calendar website, email music@calpoly.edu or call 805-756-2406.