Intended Audience
Performance 1:00 - 2:00 p.m., no tickets needed
Experience the New Auditorium!
To celebrate the grand opening of the new performance hall at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, the SMCM Chamber Singers, under the direction of Professor of Music Larry Vote will perform Carl Orff’s famous cantata, “Carmina Burana.” Baritone Gustavo Ahualli and soprano Diane Atherton will perform the virtuoso solo roles accompanied by two grand pianos and five percussionists.
Carmina Burana is a cantata composed in 1935 and 1936 by Carl Orff, based on 24 poems from the medieval collection Carmina Burana. The poems speak of fate, beauty of nature, love, the indulgence of life and the consequence of over-indulgence. Known for its dramatic and folklike melodies, Carmina Burana is one of the most performed cantatas of all time.
Larry Edward Vote is Professor of Music and former Provost of St. Mary’s College of Maryland. An accomplished vocal soloist and conductor, he has performed throughout the United States and Europe, including at Weill Recital at Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Mr. Vote may be heard in music of Bach, Handel and Telemann on two compact discs published by Crystal Records as well as the premier of William Thomas McKinley’s “Dallas 1963” with the Slovak Radio Orchestra on MMC Recordings. Other recordings include his conducting of new brass music on “Hearing the Call” and as baritone in Blacher’s “Romeo and Juliet.” He has performed or conducted premiers of the music of David Froom, Thomas McKinley and Gian Carlo Menotti among others.
Hailed for his rich and powerful baritone, Mr. Gustavo Ahualli has become well known for his dramatic portrayals in a myriad of leading roles in both the standard operatic repertoire as well as new works by contemporary composers. In the academic field, he is a voice faculty for the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at the Catholic University of America and Levine School of Music in Washington, D.C.
Diane Atherton has sung in every major concert hall in the British Isles and has toured extensively throughout Europe and the U.S., recorded for TV and radio as well as many of the major record labels including EMI and Naxos. Her vocal dexterity and flexibility are illustrated by the widevariety of repertoire she has sung.