American Festival Chorus and Orchestra Present Haydn's 'The Creation’

The American Festival Chorus and Orchestra, with Craig Jessop conducting, rounds out its season with Franz Joseph Haydn’s “The Creation” March 27 in the Kent Concert Hall, Chase Fine Arts Center, Utah State University. The performance features soloists Cindy Dewey and Cory Evans, faculty members at USU, and internationally acclaimed baritone Clayton Brainerd.

 

The American Festival Chorus is a community music program sponsored by USU’s Department of Music and the Caine School of the Arts.

 

Tickets for The Creation are $12, $16 and $18. In a special arrangement, tickets for high school and junior high/middle school students are half-price with ID at ticket office outlets and at the door. Tickets are available in person at the CSA Box Office in the Chase Fine Arts Center, Room 139-B and at the Eccles Theatre Ticket Office, 43 S. Main St.; by calling 435-797-8022 or online.

 

“The Creation is one of the great choral-orchestral works of Western civilization,” said Jessop. “It’s been a hit since its premier in the 1800s.”

 

Jessop called the piece Haydn’s masterwork and a celebration of the beauty of the planet earth.

 

“It’s really an extravagant portrayal of the beauty and wonders of creation,” he said.

 

Haydn was a devout Mason and recognized God as the great architect of the universe, Jessop said. The text for the work comes mostly from the biblical books of Genesis and Psalms. The three soloists represent angels who narrate and comment on the six days of creation. The overture is recognized for its portrayal of the chaos before the creation, and the work is also known for its monumental choruses.

 

The soloists will add a special dimension, Jessop said.

 

Soprano Cindy Dewey is an active performer, appearing regularly in recital and with symphonies in the United States and Canada. She made her New York debut in the award-winning opera “Intimations,” where her performance received praise in the New York Times. Dewey has also performed leading opera and operetta roles with companies in Texas, Louisiana, Ohio and West Virginia.

 

Tenor Cory Evans is director of choral activities at USU. He served as music director of the Northern Utah Choral Society, which has evolved into the American Festival Chorus where he now serves as associate director. He has also served as music/executive director of Musica Reservata of Utah. He has soloed with the Vancouver Symphony and Utah Chamber Orchestra, and appears on the CD Sing Me to Heaven.

 

Award-winning baritone Clayton Brainerd has amassed an extensive list of accolades in the last decade singing leading roles with the major orchestras and opera companies of the world. His imposing stage presence and magnificent voice have electrified audiences in Europe, New Zealand, Canada, North and South America, Korea and Japan.

 

“His baritone is beautiful, firm, resonant, well-controlled at all dynamic levels, smoothly produced and expressive, as is his stage manner,” said a review by Lisa Hirsch in the San Francisco Classical Voice.

 

The professional American Festival Orchestra is composed of USU music faculty, outstanding musicians in the community and the northern Utah region and top select senior USU students, Jessop said. Principal strings are the Fry String Quartet members, hailed in the “New York Times” as “a triumph of ensemble playing.”

 

The American Festival Chorus includes 260 singers who live within a 50-mile radius of Logan.

 

In a promotional package in conjunction with the concert, USU’s University Inn is offering a special $59 rate plus tax. For a reservation, call 435-797-3679 or 800-231-5634 and ask for Allison.