When Stewarts Creek High School choral director Brian Russell talks about ‘life-long learning,’ he means it. And the teenagers in the Stewarts Creek choirs get to experience it first-hand when they join the adult members of Stewarts Creek Choral Union, a community choral ensemble of working and retired adults, to perform The Creation by 18th Century Austrian composer Josef Haydn. Over 160 singers, aged 14 through 74, will come together in song on Sunday, April 23.
“Choral music is a great equalizer,” says Dr. Russell. “It doesn’t matter if a person is rich or poor, black or white, what kind of clothes you wear, or your age. Everyone has a voice and a place in the choir.”
Each year the high school students at Stewarts Creek invite community members to join the Stewarts Creek Choral Union and join on their final performance. In the last three years over seventy community members have joined the school choirs in performances of such masterworks as Mozart’s Requiem and Coronation Mass, Handel’s Zadok the Priest, and Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem.
This year’s masterwork is Haydn’s Creation, first performed in 1802 and a long-time warhorse of choral-orchestral literature. For the adult members of the Choral Union, this performance is an opportunity to share their love of choral music with the next generation.
“I first performed Haydn’s Creation in 1987 and am excited to sing it again,” said Murfreesboro resident Fran Gebuhr. “These students are lucky to perform these fine pieces at such a young age. I love seeing their faces light up when all the pieces of the performance come together.”
The students also get a chance to sit next to experienced singers of all ages and walks of life. For Senior Carli Young, this will be her fourth and final performance with the Choral Union. “Singing doesn’t have to stop after graduation,” says Young. “I’ve sung with accountants, lawyers, office workers, plumbers, and even a few of my teachers. It’s great to know I can continue to do what I love for the rest of my life.”
The performance will take place in the Stewarts Creek High School Theater (301 Red Hawk Parkway, Smyrna) at 3pm on Sunday, April 23. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and will be available at the door. In addition to the Haydn Creation, the concert will open with the Grieg Piano Concerto featuring Stewarts Creek student pianist, Andrew Harris. A full orchestra of college and high school students will accompany the 160-vocie choir and over thirty student soloists.