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A true musical spectacle takes place at SUNY Fredonia in May with the return of the Masterworks Scholarship Benefit Concert.

The Fredonia School of Music will present Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana” and Joseph Haydn’s “Te Deum” on Saturday, May 3 at 8 p.m. in King Concert Hall.

It marks the return of the Masterworks Concert after a five-year absence.

Tickets are $25 for the general public. Student tickets are free, if acquired in advance. One hundred percent of ticket proceeds go directly to music scholarships, thanks to a generous gift from an anonymous donor.

"It is truly a remarkable event - one that we have not seen on campus since 2019, when we performed the ‘Verdi Requiem,’” said Dr. Vernon Huff, who is an associate professor and director of choral activities at Fredonia.

The concert features the Fredonia Masterworks Chorus directed by Dr. Huff; the Fredonia College Symphony Orchestra directed by Dr. Emily Schaad, who is assistant professor and director of orchestral activities at Fredonia; and the Fredonia Elementary School Chorus prepared and directed by April Hartung.

Also featured will be alumni soloists Heidi Schneider, ’17; Jordan Weatherston Pitts, '12, and Justin Staebell, ’09.

Tickets are available online 24/7. Tickets may also be purchased on Monday, Wednesday or Friday by phone at (716) 673-3501 or in person at the Fredonia Ticket Office in the Williams Center during the same hours.

“‘Carmina Burana’ is a spectacle.” - Dr. Emily Schaad

“This concert will offer two pieces central to the choral-orchestral canon: Joseph Haydn’s ‘Te Deum’ for the Empress Maria Theresa and Carl Orff’s ‘Carmina Burana’,” Huff said. “Orff’s timeless masterpiece, with its themes of love and death, is beloved by classical musical audiences around the globe. When we were deciding which work to reboot our Masterworks series, this was the obvious choice.”

“Carmina Burana” is a cantata composed in 1935 and 1936 and is based on 24 poems from the medieval collection of the same title.

“‘Carmina Burana’ is a spectacle,” Dr. Schaad said. “It involves a tremendous cast of musicians, combines many stylistic elements, and its musical gestures are dramatic and captivating. Orff avoided intricate polyphony and used insistent and catchy melodies, so it is easy to listen to and relate to. For this reason, it has been quoted often in commercials, movies, and pop songs, so parts of it are familiar to many people.”

Schaad said hearing a large work like “Carmina Burana” live in concert is a thrill.

“The text and music are based on the idea of fate turning us up and down as we live our lives, so emotions run rampant, changing rapidly between and within the 25 short movements,” she explained. “The orchestration (the combination of who plays or sings together at each moment) is exciting, as textures are constantly changing. It is always my hope that the audience will feel that emotional connection to the music and continue attending live performances.”

The concert brings together 97 SUNY Fredonia students in the orchestra and 104 in the choir. Schaad noted these students study with 30 different applied faculty members at the college.

Also taking part are 47 students in the children’s choir.

“They are the future of music making, so it is exciting to watch them be a part of this process,” said Huff. “April Hartung, their director, is also an alumna of SUNY Fredonia, so it is wonderful to have her on board.”

Behind the scenes, Schaad said the Masterworks event includes the operations manager, box office personnel, the community relations director, and students and faculty from the Sound Recording Technology program.