| Sen.
Robert F. Bennett joins chorus for USU concert
January 21, 2009— Utah Sen.
Robert F. Bennett is the featured guest for a concert
that celebrates the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's
birth. Bennett will narrate Aaron Copland's "A
Lincoln Portrait" in the concert offered by the
community-based American Festival Chorus, directed by
Craig Jessop, USU music department head in the Caine
School of the Arts.
The concert, "Lincoln Bicentennial
Celebration," is Jan. 31 in the Kent Concert Hall
of the Chase Fine Arts Center on the USU campus (approximately
1110 E. 610 North, Logan). Concert time is 7:30 p.m.
Tickets to the event are $10 and
free to USU students with current I.D. Tickets are available
through the Caine School of the Arts Box Office (435)
797-8022, online (http://boxoffice.usu.edu)
or at the door.
In addition to Bennett, a number
of other guests are involved in the multi-media concert
celebration. In addition to the Copland work, the chorus
will present "America the Beautiful," "Shenandoah,"
the story of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"
and other traditional favorites appropriate for the
patriotic tribute.
"This concert is a combined
cultural celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day,
the 100th anniversary of the organization of the NAACP,
Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday and the inauguration
of the first African-American president," Jessop
said.
Jessop invited Bennett to join the
American Festival Chorus for the performance, and the
senator was able to work the invitation into his schedule.
"Sen. Bennett is a great advocate
for the arts and we are honored to have him join us,"
Jessop said. "He was a natural choice — he loves
music and he loves the arts. He has a great love of
this country and for Abraham Lincoln."
"A Lincoln Portrait" is
an orchestral work written by American composer Aaron
Copland, known for many selections that are folk-based
or reflect the American character, including "Fanfare
for the Common Man," another work that will be
featured in the Logan concert. The work is narrated
with excerpts from Lincoln's writings and speeches,
including the Gettysburg Address. The work was composed
and introduced in 1942 as part of a patriotic effort
commissioned by conductor Andre Kostelanetz.
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