Syracuse Children’s Chorus to present concert at Hendricks Chapel May 4

Syracuse Children’s Chorus to present concert at Hendricks Chapel May 4April 29, 2003Judy Holmesjlholmes@syr.edu

The Syracuse Children’s Chorus will present “America’s Voices” May 4 at 3 p.m. in Syracuse University’s Hendricks Chapel. Joining the Children’s Chorus will be guest soprano Eileen Strempel and composer Gregg Smith. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors, and will be available at the door or by calling 478-0582.

The concert will feature the works of American composers Libby Larsen, Charles Ives and Central New York composer Jimmy Van Heusen. Strempel will join the chorus as the soloist in Smith’s “Spring Songs,” a work that was commissioned by the Syracuse Children’s Chorus and premiered by Strempel in 1993. “Spring Songs” is a seven-movement song cycle for soprano, children’s voices and piano four-hand accompaniment.

Directing the chorus will be founder Barbara M. Tagg and assistant director Roberta Palange. Pianist Alice Muzquiz and Deborah Cunningham will accompany the chorus.

Strempel, a faculty member in SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, has performed as a soloist, in recitals and in operas across the United States and Europe. She began her career in Central New York as a student in the West Genesee School District under the tutelage of Tagg and Palange. When Strempel returned to the area in 1999, she celebrated by presenting a recital to benefit the Syracuse Children’s Chorus.

Smith has composed several works for the Syracuse Children’s Chorus since meeting Tagg in 1983, including “A Prayer for Peace,” which was premiered by the chorus at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the United Nations in New York City in 1986. Composer of more than 400 choral, chamber and orchestral works, Smith has received numerous awards and honors, including Chorus America’s Margaret Hillis Award for lifetime choral excellence. He is the director of The Gregg Smith Singers, a professional choral group he founded in 1955.

The May 4 concert is supported by the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust and the Carrier Corporation.