Before tour, Chamber Singers give concert Sunday

Dr. Donald P. Lang

The Fredonia Chamber Singers will prepare for their upcoming spring tour with a concert at the State University of New York at Fredonia on Sunday, March 19 at 4 p.m. in the Juliet J. Rosch Recital Hall. Admission is free and open to the public. Under the direction of Dr. Donald Lang, the Fredonia Chamber Singers will offer the area premiere of Sean Doyle’s “Choral Bagatelles,” a collection of four short compositions featuring the light verse of American writer John Updike.

A native of Westhampton Beach, Mr. Doyle completed his undergraduate studies at SUNY Fredonia and recently earned a graduate degree from the School of Music. He is a member of the Fredonia Chamber Singers and composed “Choral Bagatelles” specifically for the ensemble. “These are delightful pieces, that show Sean’s development and maturity as a composer,” said Dr. Lang. “We are pleased and proud to debut them on Sunday.”

The program for the afternoon concert will also include Don Carlo Gesualdo’s “Io Pur Respino,” Charles Villiers Stanford’s “Three Partsongs” and Claude Debussy’s “Trois Chansons.”

Other selections are Daniel Pinkham’s “Wedding Cantata,” Harry Somers’ arrangement of “Five Songs from the Newfoundland Outports,” Norman Luboff’s arrangement of “Dixie” and Moses Hogan’s arrangement of “My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord.”

Thomas Foster will serve as piano accompanist for the performance. Kristina Ramanayake will serve as Dr. Lang’s graduate assistant.

Comprised of top voice area students from the SUNY Fredonia School of Music, the Fredonia Chamber Singers have performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe since 1980. The ensemble will begin its spring tour of New York State on Wednesday, March 22 and will return on Sunday, April 2 after performances in Corning, Penn Yan, Whitney Point, Morris, Oneonta, Niskayuna, Canajoharie, Bethlehem, Westhampton Beach, Hauppauge and Endicott.

The 2005-006 Fredonia Chambers Singers include Michael F. Aiello (Clifton Park), Mary K. Brabant (Clayton), Corey P. Cerullo (Hewlett), Jesse E. Conti (Niskayuna), Corrine F. Dartnell (Clayton), Kelly DiStefano (Morris), Donald Dohr (Greece), Sean Doyle (Westhampton Beach), Andraya Marie Fazio (Churchville), Mary Elisabeth Finger (Corning), Thomas Foster (North Collins), Kyle Knapton (Penn Yan) and Eric Koepke (Newfane).

Other members include Lindsay Kramer (Wading River), Kaitlyn Markowitz (Poughkeepsie), Laura E. Noack (Colden), Pamela A. Pannone (Webster), Colin Pazik (Lockport), Ben Pfeil (Chenango Forks), Joseph Pow (Victor), Kristina Ramanayake (Rochester), Eric Rubinstein (St. James), Amy Shake (Clifton Park), Justin Staebell (Orchard Park), Colleen A. Stoffel (Lancaster), Katie Vaughn (Spencerport) and Stephen Wilson (Phoenix).

In addition to his duties as a member of the SUNY Fredonia School of Music faculty, Dr. Lang has guided the Fredonia Chamber Singers for 26 years. He is the Director of Choral Activities at the university and teaches classes in choral conducting, choral arranging, applied musicianship and choral literature at the undergraduate and graduate levels.  A 2001 recipient of the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, Dr. Lang is the founder and director of the Fredonia Summer Choral Music Program and is a highly regarded guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator.