Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music will present Johann Sebastian Bach’s Matthäus-Passion on April 5 at 7 p.m. in Hodgson Concert Hall. Tickets for this double-chorus, double-orchestra work, considered one of the masterpieces of sacred classical music, are $10 for general admission and $5 for students and can be purchased through the Performing Arts Center box office at 706/542-4400 or online at www.uga.edu/pac.
Also known as the St. Matthew Passion, the composition was written by Bach in 1727, setting chapters 26 and 27 of the Bible’s Gospel of Matthew to music, highlighted by chorales and arias.The three-hour concert features the University Chorus, Collegium Musicum, the Women’s Glee Club and the UGA Chamber Orchestra, combined with members of the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra. The ensembles will be joined by three alumni soloists, Derek Chester, Laura Chester and David Alan Jones, and two guest soloists from the early music world, Paul max Tipton and Reginald Mobley. The concert will be sung in the original German, with a translated text in the program.
“It’s a special occasion to be able to prepare and present this masterpiece of sacred music as we approach the celebrations for Easter,” said Mitos Andaya, director of the University Chorus, Women’s Glee Club and Collegium Musicum. “This collaboration with our students and the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra is very exciting as our students get to interact and play alongside these professionals in the field of early music.”
The UGA choirs will present an additional performance at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers on April 10 at 3 p.m. For more information, see www.ugaca.uga.edu.
