News Releases

Carmina Burana and the follies of humans at NAPA

For Release Upon Receipt - April 12, 2013

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago – For one night only, the Department of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA) of The University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine presents a complete performance of Carl Orff’s towering choral masterwork 'Carmina Burana' at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) on Saturday 13th April, 2013 at 8pm.

Jessel Murray, Senior Lecturer at the DCFA, will conduct the combined forces of The UWI Arts Chorale, UWI Percussion, UWI Steel, vocal soloists and special guest, the University of Delaware Percussion Ensemble (Delaware, USA). Dr. Jeannine Remy will also conduct The UWI Percussion in separate works for percussion while Mikhel Carter will lead The UWI African Drumming Ensemble.

Composed during the years 1935 and 1936 by Orff, 'Carmina Burana' is one of the well-regarded choral works in existence. The work is so popular that the opening "O Fortuna" has become a staple of movies, advertisements and other elements of pop culture. The text, a mixture of Latin and German is a series of 24 poems celebrating life and love and providing a satirical look at the follies of humankind. Orff set each of the vocal soloists to sing in the extremes of their respective ranges.

Candice Alcantara will sing the soprano solo, while Chorale members Keegan Miguel will sing the tenor solo, and Marlon De Bique and Krisson Joseph will share the baritone solos.

This combined performance was first proposed by Harvey Price, Associate Professor of Percussion at the University of Delaware as a way for the two universities to deepen ties through cultural exchange. Mr. Price, a regular visitor to Trinidad and Tobago over the last few years, has brought students from his Percussion Ensemble to participate in steelpan performances at Carnival, and he and his students have become virtual regulars with the small band Supernova on the Panorama stage. The University of Delaware Percussion Ensemble is an accredited ensemble in the Music Department at the University of Delaware. The ensemble focuses on the literature of the late 20th and 21st centuries written for groups of percussion instruments. Since its inception in the early 1980s the group has performed at more than 150 concerts and commissioned numerous works.

This joint production of 'Carmina Burana' promises to be an exhilarating experience for the audience. Tickets are $125 and are available at the Department of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA) at Agostini Street and Gordon Street, members of participating ensembles and the NAPA box office. For more information, call 645-0873, 663-2141, 663-2222, or 747-7340 or email uwi.arts.chorale@gmail.com or uwi.steel@gmail.com.

 

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Notes to the Editor:

In the last few years, The UWI Arts Chorale has gained a large following in Trinidad and Tobago with their eagerly awaited premieres of choral works. In successive years the Chorale has presented  Bernstein’s ‘Chichester Psalms’ with orchestral accompaniment (2009), the national premiere of  Benjamin Britten’s classic work ‘A Ceremony of Carols’ with harp accompaniment (2010) and Gabriel Fauré’s ever-popular ‘Requiem’ (2012). The Chorale, with The UWI Steel, also offered concerts in 2011 to celebrate the United Nations Year of Persons of African descent. The UWI Steel won first place in the World Steelband Festival in 2003 (small ensemble). Subsequently, the ensemble has collaborated with Ray Holman in the production of his popular CD ‘Changing Time’ and has performed with soloists such as concert pianist Ray Luck and has been the first choice of composers for experimental steelband music. Under the guidance of Jessel Murray, the Chorale and Steel has completed tours to Massachusetts, New York and Barbados.

 

The UWI Percussion Ensemble was started in 2003 by Dr. Jeannine Remy and has grown into two groups: the junior and senior percussion ensembles.  Currently in their 10th year of existence, this ensemble is the first of its kind in Trinidad and Tobago.  The UWI percussion ensemble has performed as part of the ‘Rainmakers’ at the Percussive Arts International Convention in 2008 in Austin, TX and has produced a CD.  Dr. Jeannine Remy is a Senior Lecturer in Music at the DCFA.

 

The UWI African Drumming Ensemble began in 1996 at the DCFA under the direction of deceased Master drummer and drum maker Mr. Julian Straker and is now directed by Mikhel Carter. Mr. Carter recently earned his BA Musical Arts degree from The UWI with a concentration in percussion performance and is now an adjunct lecturer at The UWI. He is also an avid musician dedicated to his family band Amantes de Parranda. He leaves for India in May to perform and offer workshops at the invitation of the Rays of Wisdom Society in New Delhi.

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About UWI

Over the last six decades, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest and most longstanding higher education provider in the English-speaking Caribbean, with main campuses in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and Centres in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Christopher (St Kitts) & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines. UWI recently launched its Open Campus, a virtual campus with 45 physical site locations across the region, serving 16 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. UWI is an international university with faculty and students from over 40 countries and collaborative links with over 60 universities around the world. Through its seven Faculties, UWI offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science & Technology, Food & Agriculture, and Social Sciences.

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

 

 

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