East Stroudsburg University\u2019s Concert Choir and Symphonic Band will present their fall concerts this weekend in the Cecilia S. Cohen Recital Hall in the University\u2019s Fine and Performing Arts Center, Normal and Marguerite streets, East Stroudsburg. Both concerts are open to the public at no cost.<\/p>\n
On Friday, November 17 the Concert Choir will perform at 7:30 p.m. The concert looks at seasonal songs, beginning with the ever-popular \u201cSeasons of Love\u201d from Rent. Other works include popular hits such as \u201cHere Comes the Sun\u201d by the Beatles, \u201cIn Summer\u201d and \u201cLet it Go\u201d from Frozen, and \u201cThe Song of Purple Summer\u201d from Spring Awakening, settings of poetry by Robert Frost and Rachel Field, and a parody on Bach \u2013 \u201cCold and Fugue Season.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Sunday, November 19 the Symphonic Band will present \u201cComplimentary Contrasts\u201d at 3:30 p.m. The concert will present pairings of selections which both complement and contrast aspects of their musical design, beginning with the classic John Philip Sousa march, \u201cFairest of the Fair.\u201d This is paired with the third movement of Ira Hearshen\u2019s \u201cSymphony on Themes of John Philip Sousa,\u201d a scherzo based on the \u201cFairest of the Fair\u201d march. The ensemble will also perform a pair contrasting darkness and light with a transcription of Dmitri Shostakovich\u2019s \u201cPrelude in Eb Minor\u201d and Eric Whitacre\u2019s \u201cLux Aurumque\u201d; and look at art music and folk music with a pairing of the constructed work \u201cPrelude, Siciliano, and Rondo\u201d by Malcolm Arnold and Ralph Vaughan Williams\u2019 famous \u201cFolk Song Suite,\u201d comprised of numerous folk songs from the English tradition. The performance will conclude with complementary contrasts in one singular work, a mix of songs and dances from Leonard Bernstein\u2019s \u201cWest Side Story\u201d.<\/p>\n