Centenary College Choir's "Rhapsody in View" comes to First Baptist Church November 3 and 4
SHREVEPORT, LA — The Centenary College Choir is preparing for its annual “Rhapsody in View” performance in a new venue this year during the renovation of Riverview Theatre. The Choir presents the 2018 installation of “Rhapsody” at First Baptist Church in Shreveport on Saturday, November 3 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 4 at 2:30 p.m.
The performance, co-sponsored by the Downtown Shreveport Lions Club, kicks off Centenary’s Homecoming week. The Choir is exploring a theme of “Deep Roots” for the 2018-2019 season, using music to focus on several aspects of Centenary’s heritage.
“The ‘Deep Roots’ theme incorporates philosophical, religious, and cultural ideas, exploring both the College’s religious affiliation and its identity as a Louisiana institution,” explains Dr. David Hobson, director of the Centenary College Choir. “The music portrays these ideas in physical creation, faith, and our unique French-Acadian cultural connections in Louisiana. Later this year the Choir will embark on our first ever tour of French Canada, so we wanted to explore this connection musically.”
Pieces in the concert include Romantic French composer Gabriel Faure’s beautiful anthem Cantique de Jean Racine and Stephen Hatfield’s French-Canadian folk song setting of the exuberant O-Yo-Yo. South Louisiana culture is represented with familiar settings of Jambalaya and When the Saints Go Marching In. The neo-shape note anthem Emerald Stream and the ethereal Stars by Esenvalds explore a creation theme, while one of the most dramatic pieces of the program, The Conversion of St. Paul by Z. Randall Stroope, recaptures perhaps the most famous Christian conversion story in the Bible.
“Of course, no Centenary Choir program would be complete without an enthusiastic variety of spirituals, Broadway, and other choral styles,” adds Hobson. “The program this year also features quite a bit of a capella music, taking advantage of our venue in First Baptist Church.”
“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.