Arete will conclude season on April 12

American hymns, folk songs and spirituals to be sung

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The 30-member professional ensemble will perform arrangements of Colonial American hymns by Robert Shaw and Alice Parker and spirituals by arrangers including William Dawson, Jester Hairston and Moses Hogan.

Photo: Brian Stethem

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – March 25, 2015) Areté Vocal Ensemble will conclude its sixth season with a concert exploring the legacy of American hymns, folk songs and spirituals.

“America Sings: Glory, Hallelujah!” will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 12, in Samuelson Chapel on the Thousand Oaks campus.

The 30-member professional ensemble will perform arrangements of Colonial American hymns by Robert Shaw and Alice Parker and spirituals by arrangers including William Dawson, Jester Hairston and Moses Hogan. Areté members will be featured individually as soloists on the “Old American Songs” by Aaron Copland.

Music director Wyant Morton will conduct. Jessica Helms, a Cal Lutheran alumna and accompanist for the Music Department, will play piano.

Morton founded Areté, which is based at Cal Lutheran, with the goal of performing the widest possible vocal repertoire, including works from essentially all periods of music. Special attention is given to contemporary, experimental, improvisatory, “cross-over” and ethnic music.

The ensemble, which takes its name from the Greek word for excellence, focuses on performing the new, the unknown and the unconventional with energy, passion, expertise and virtuosity. Through the combined power of words and music, an uncompromising attention to musical detail and a passion for live performance, Areté offers audiences a joyful, moving, educational and soul-nurturing experience.

Morton is director of choral activities and a professor of music at Cal Lutheran. He also maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator appearing throughout the United States and Canada.

The chapel is located at 165 Chapel Lane in Thousand Oaks. Additional parking is available at the corner of Olsen Road and Mountclef Boulevard.

Tickets purchased online in advance are $15. Tickets at the door are $20. Student tickets are $10 with ID. Admission is free for children younger than 12. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit aretevocalensemble.org.

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