Southwest Baptist University News Release
Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications
BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Music Department of Southwest Baptist University will present the annual Masterworks Concerts on Friday, May 6, at 7:30 p.m. in the Pike Auditorium in Bolivar, Mo. and on Saturday, May 7, at 7:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Springfield, Mo. The concert is free and open to the general public.
Featured works for the program are “Testament of Freedom” and “The Last Invocation” by Randall Thompson and “Song of Democracy” by Howard Hanson. The Masterworks concert features the combined efforts of more than 120 musicians of the Chorale and Concert Choir of SBU, the SBU Wind Symphony, and local singers through the Bolivar Community Chorus.
Dr. James R. Tarrant, professor of music and director of choral studies at SBU, is the artistic director for the concert. In his seventh year at Southwest Baptist, Dr. Tarrant holds degrees in conducting, piano, and sacred music from the University of Memphis, Eastern Kentucky University, and the University of the Cumberlands. He studied conducting with David Greenlee and musicology with Kenneth Kreitner.
Dr. Tarrant’s ensembles have appeared nationally and internationally, garnering invitations to perform at such venues as the National Cathedral in Washington, D. C., the Salzburg Cathedral with the Dom Chor, and a command performance for the Royal Family of Great Britain. Dr. Tarrant has conducted choirs in Great Britain and across central Europe, with performances at the massive Ulm Cathedral, Vienna’s Stephansdom, and rare performances in the Singers Room of Neuschwanstein and at the Dachau and Mauthausen concentration camps. Dr. Tarrant also serves as organist for St. Paul United Methodist Church of Springfield, Mo.
“The Masterworks concert series has over the years seen the presentation of the large choral and orchestra works from the western European tradition. We are pleased to present these particularly American works by American composers and poets,” said Dr. Tarrant. “We welcome the opportunity to share this capstone performance with the Springfield community as well.”
For more information, contact the SBU Music Department at (417) 328-1644.
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Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.
SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a day at (417) 399-7918.
