Saturday, March 3, 2001, at 7:30 pm
Sunday, March 4, 2001, at 2:30 pm
Soreng Theatre

100-year retrospective back by popular demand!
Barber, Copland, Ives, Gershwin, Bernstein, plus popular American songs of war, peace, protest and triumph, live narration, historic audio clips, audience participation.

The Register-Guard's review of the concert

Eugene Concert Choir
Eugene Vocal Arts Ensemble

Vicki Brabham and Melvina Bartels, piano
Tim Clarke, trumpet
Mark Schneider, bass
Alan Tarpinian, drums

Audiences just couldn't get enough of last year's retrospective of American vocal music of the past century, so we're reprising this concert for two special performances on March 3 & 4. We're exploring our greatest home-grown composers including Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, Randall Thompson, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and Charles Ives, as well as composers of popular standards for a fabulous romp starting in 1900 through to our own "turn of the century!" We're blending historic audio clips, music and spirited narration for a unique program saturated with our shared American experience.

Instead of performing the exact repertoire from last season, we will provide an opportunity for audiences to sample some different selections by the same great composers, including Agnus Dei-Samuel Barber's choral transcription of his deeply moving Adagio for Strings.

Joining the Eugene Concert Choir and the Eugene Vocal Arts Ensemble conducted by Diane Retallack, will be a hot jazz combo featuring Vicki Brabham, piano; Alan Tarpinian, drums; Tim Clarke, trumpet and Mark Schneider, bass. Additionally, Elvis is back! Elvis impersonator David Lomond will perform and the show will close with last season's treasure, Darline Jackson who was praised in a Register-Guard review as possessing an "Aretha Franklinesque voice."

This concert will be one last chance to enjoy the music of America in the context of the greatest American century!