Centenary College Choir brings annual "Rhapsody in View" performance to Riverview Theater October 21 and 22
SHREVEPORT, LA — The Centenary College Choir is gearing up for its largest concert of the year, the annual “Rhapsody in View” performance co-sponsored by the Downtown Shreveport Lions Club. The Choir presents the 2017 installation of “Rhapsody” at Shreveport’s Riverview Theater during Centenary’s Homecoming weekend on Saturday, October 21 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 22 at 2:30 p.m.
The theme of this year’s concert is “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The program features some obvious nods toward American patriotism, with settings of the Star Spangled Banner, Salute to the Armed Forces, and the rarely heard Paul Revere’s Ride and Concord Hymn. There are also selections, such as Hope for Resolution and Homeland, which transcend cultural divides or national boundaries.
“The music draws on a wide range of styles and sources in drawing out these ideas,” says Dr. David Hobson, director of the Centenary College Choir. “We often think of Thomas Jefferson’s words in a patriotic way, and rightfully so, but the truth of this extraordinary insight and declaration is something I think is more universal.”
Hobson points out that the program exhibits a great mix of fun and inspiration as well, with Edwin Ferguson’s lively shaker song, Ye Followers of the Lamb, Leonard Bernstein’s “Life is Happiness Indeed” from Candide, and the Heaven Melody by John Coates. The Choir will also be presenting two René Clausen compositions, All that Hath Life and Breath and Simple Gifts, Dan Forrest’s extraordinary setting of the Charles Wesley text, And Can It Be?, and solo selections by individual Choir members.
The Airline High School choir, the Airline Troubadours, will join the Centenary College Choir at the beginning of the “Rhapsody” program.
“Rhapsody in View,” presented annually since 1949, is one of the most enduring arts experiences in the Shreveport-Bossier City area. Proceeds from the concert support Lions Club projects such as sight conservation, the Lions Eye Research Foundation, the Northwest Louisiana Lions Eye Bank, and the Lions Camp near Leesville, Louisiana.
Tickets are $15 in advance, $17 at the door, and $10 for students. Tickets can be purchased from Centenary College Choir members, Downtown Lions Club members, at the Hurley School of Music at Centenary, at all Porters Cleaners locations, or by phoning 318.429.6887.