ESU Music Department to Host Pennsylvania Collegiate Choral Festival Concert on Feb. 15

Posted by: admin on January 31, 2014, No Comments

More than 100 singers from colleges and universities throughout the state will perform at the Pennsylvania Collegiate Choral Festival Concert at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 15, at Cecilia S. Cohen Recital Hall of East Stroudsburg University’s Fine and Performing Arts Center, Normal and Marguerite streets.

The concert, hosted by ESU’s Department of Music, is open to the public at no cost.

Peter Bagley, professor emeritus of music at the University of Connecticut, will be guest conductor for the program, which will feature an eclectic mixture of choral works, including pieces by Fauré, Britten, Martin Shaw, Bagley and others. The concert will also feature several a cappella groups chosen by auditions from the participating schools.

A guest conductor and choral clinician for numerous festivals and all-state choirs throughout the country, Bagley is an active member of the American Choral Directors Association and was honored in October 1990 by the Connecticut chapter as “… the Connecticut Choral Educator of the Year.” His professional achievements are recognized in Who’s Who in the East and Who’s Who Among Black Americans.

Bagley made his Carnegie Hall debut in June 1997, conducting Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem. Among many engagements, he recently conducted the M.E.N.C. All-Eastern Division Chorus in Pittsburgh and launched his international career as choral clinician for various choirs in a 10-city tour of New Zealand.

A former special assistant to the dean of the School of Fine Arts at The University of Connecticut, Bagley received his B.S. in Music Education at the Crane School of Music, State University of New York at Potsdam and his D.M. in Choral Conducting under Julius Herford at Indiana University.

The Pennsylvania Collegiate Choral Festival, held annually for more than 50 years, provides an artistic and educational experience for students and choral directors as they share ideas and learn new repertoire and techniques. Participants will arrive at East Stroudsburg University on Thursday, February 13, and spend the next two days working under Bagley’s guidance to prepare for Saturday’s concert.

For more information on the concert, call the Fine and Performing Arts Events Line at 570-422-3483, or email esuarts@esu.edu.