TRADITIONS SHINE IN SYMPHONY’S ANNUAL HOLIDAY CONCERT

"Sounds of the Season"
Monday, December 15^th, 2003
C.Y. Stephens Auditorium, Iowa State Center, Ames 7:30 pm

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Click here for a 44K high resolution image of Mary Creswell.

AMES, Iowa ­ A massed choir of more than 200 voices will join the Central Iowa Symphony for the annual Sounds of the Season holiday concert at 7:30 p.m., Monday, December 15 at Stephens Auditorium. Mezzo soprano Mary Creswell, assistant professor of voice at Iowa State University, will be the featured soloist.

The singers represent some of the best high school choral programs in the region: Boone (Pam Grundstad, director), Des Moines Christian (Rick Tegeler, director), East Greene (Wendell Brown, director), Eldora-New Providence (Betty Collins, director), and Norwalk (Kim Ward, director). Mark Laycock, CIS Music Director and Conductor, will lead the performance.

The massed chorus will sing “And the Glory of the Lord” and Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah, Christmas carol medleys by Robert Shaw and Randol Alan Bass, and “Shepherd’s Pipe Carol” by contemporary English composer John Rutter.

Creswell will sing “Ave Maria” by Schubert and “Allelujah” from Exsultate Justi by Mozart. She will also join the orchestra for “The Twelve Gifts of Christmas” by Jeff Tyzik, a delightful variation on the standard carol using familiar musical styles and composers.

The symphony also will perform a variety of seasonal favorites of both classical and popular origin, including Alfred Reed’s powerful setting of Greensleeves, David Ott’s rousing Festive Christmas Overture, and Leon Jessel’s holiday march, Parade of the Wooden Soldiers.

“ This will be a terrific evening of gorgeous music,” Laycock said. “These performances will delight the spirit and enrich the soul. The sound of the massed chorus must be heard to be believed. Mary Creswell is first-class artist renowned for her tremendous expression and beauty of tone. This concert is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to revisit the true meaning of the season with family and friends.”

A veteran of leading roles in opera and oratorio throughout the United States, Creswell has sung with the Detroit Symphony, Austin Symphony, Manchester Symphony, Opera Grand Rapids, Springfield Opera Theatre and Lyric Opera of Michigan. She has been a Met finalist, and in 1995 received the “Singer of the Year” award and performed her debut recital in New York City.

Creswell received her training at Western Michigan University and the University of Michigan, where she was a student of Beverley Rinaldi, and has served on the voice faculties of Michigan State University, Illinois Wesleyan University, Albion College, and Waldorf College. In the summer she is a teacher and performer at the Interlochen Center for the Arts.

Laycock is director of orchestras and instrumental music at Chapman University in Orange, California, where he conducts the symphony and chamber orchestras, administers the instrumental conducting program, and coordinates the applied instrumental faculty. From 1998-2003, he served as director of orchestral activities at Iowa State University. Laycock’s recent engagements as guest conductor include the Slovak State Philharmonic in Kosice and the Clemson University Symphony Orchestra. He will conduct the Washington All-State Orchestra in March 2005.

The 70-member Central Iowa Symphony is comprised of professional musicians, music educators, exceptional student performers, and accomplished amateurs. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students (ages 5 years and under are free). Tickets may be purchased at the door or in advance at the Iowa State Center Ticket Office, all TicketMaster locations, charge-by-phone in Ames at 515-233-1888 and in Des Moines at 515-243-1888, or on-line at www.ticketmaster.com.
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