52 F
Oxford

Anonymous Donor Funds UM Symposium to Revive Music of Earlier Era

A Renaissance music renaissance is coming to the University of Mississippi.

Dennis Shrock serves as guest conductor and lecturer at a concert celebrating the late composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein in fall 2018 at the University of Mississippi. Shrock, noted choral scholar and author of several books on historic performance and repertoire, will be guest conductor and featured lecturer for three annual music symposiums focusing on historical performances at Ole Miss. Photo by Megan Wolfe/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services
Thanks to a gift provided by an anonymous donor, a symposium in summer 2020 will bring the enchanting, but seldom-performed music of the Renaissance back to life with a four-day series of lectures and free concerts focusing on historical performances of music created by the era’s composers.

“When we host the symposium, ‘Performing Renaissance Music,’ it will be unlike anything that has ever taken place here or in the region,” said Donald Trott, UM director of choral activities and professor of music.

“What also makes this event exceptional is that Dr. Dennis Shrock, the foremost authority of historical performances of Renaissance music, will be our guest conductor at the concerts and featured lecturer for the symposium. We are grateful for the generous donor who is making this possible.”

The event will be the first of three annual music symposiums held in consecutive summers at Ole Miss and funded by the gift to the Office of Choral Activities, Trott said.

While the first symposium will feature music created and performed during the Renaissance era (1400-1600), the other two will focus on music of the Baroque-Classical period (1600-1800) and the Romantic era (1800-1900).

The inaugural symposium, set for June 15-18, 2020, is designed to reestablish the beauty and significance of the value and reputation of the Renaissance music, which has unfairly faded with the passage of time, Shrock said.

“The historical symposium at Ole Miss intends to restore the music – to bring it back to life and to reveal its rich and sonic colors,” he said.

Large sums of money are routinely spent on efforts to restore Renaissance paintings, sculptures and buildings, yet the music has either been ignored or not accurately presented, Shrock said.

“The symposium is an effort to bring attention to the music and its restoration, with the hope that the music will be seen – heard – as comparable in artistic stature to the other creative works of the time,” he said. “The music will be performed as originally intended and presented by high-caliber musicians, including Via Veritate, a 16-voice ensemble of the finest choral singers in the United States.”

The Renaissance-era music compositions will be presented for audiences at two free concerts on secular and sacred compositions. Held at the university’s Paris-Yates Chapel, the concerts will be conducted by Shrock and recorded for wider distribution.

A noted choral scholar and author of several books on historic performance and repertoire, Shrock has held faculty positions at Boston University, Westminster Choir College, the University of Oklahoma and Texas Christian University. He has had residencies at numerous other universities and frequently serves as a guest conductor and lecturer across the country.

He most recently appeared at Ole Miss in fall 2018, when he served as a guest conductor and lecturer as part of events celebrating what would have been the 100th birthday of world-renowned composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein.

Shrock and Trott have worked together several times since they first became acquainted in 1975, when Trott was a student at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey.

“Dr. Shrock was my professor when I met him as an undergraduate student, and he became my mentor and now is my great friend,” Trott said. “This symposium is an opportunity to work together on something we both love, and it is unique in that it will provide an intense academic program as well as performance instruction.”

Shrock said he is honored to be the main lecturer and conductor for the symposium.

“I’m especially pleased that Dr. Trott shares my passion and enthusiasm for performances based on historical information – performances that rely on documentation from the actual time frame in which the music was composed, and, by doing so, performances that represent the composers’ intents,” he said.

Choral musicians, university professors and high school teachers are encouraged to attend the symposium. Besides learning about performing Renaissance music, high school instructors can earn continuing education units. Registration for the symposium is already underway, Trott said.

Ideally, those attending the symposium will gain a new appreciation for Renaissance music, Shrock said.

“My hope is that they will sense that the music of the Renaissance is every bit as grand and glorious as the paintings of Leonardo and Botticelli, the sculptures of Michelangelo and the architecture of the Sistine Chapel and Florence Cathedral.”

For more information on supporting the symposium and other choral activities, contact Ron Wilson, development director, at 662-915-1755 or jrwilso3@olemiss.edu. Online gifts can be made at https://give.olemiss.edu.


By Jonathan Scott

Adam Brown
Adam Brown
Sports Editor

Most Popular

Recent Comments

scamasdscamith on News Watch Ole Miss
Frances Phillips on A Bigger, Better Student Union
Grace Hudditon on A Bigger, Better Student Union
Millie Johnston on A Bigger, Better Student Union
Binary options + Bitcoin = $ 1643 per week: https://8000-usd-per-day.blogspot.com.tr?b=46 on Beta Upsilon Chi: A Christian Brotherhood
Jay Mitchell on Reflections: The Square
Terry Wilcox SFCV USA RET on Oxford's Five Guys Announces Opening Date
Stephanie on Throwback Summer
organized religion is mans downfall on VP of Palmer Home Devotes Life to Finding Homes for Children
Paige Williams on Boyer: Best 10 Books of 2018
Keith mansel on Cleveland On Medgar Evans
Debbie Nader McManus on Cofield on Oxford — Lest We Forget
Bettye H. Galloway on Galloway: The Last of His Kind
Richard Burns on A William Faulkner Sighting
Bettye H. Galloway on Galloway: Faulkner's Small World
Bettye H Galloway on Galloway: Faulkner's Small World
Bettye H Galloway on Galloway: Faulkner's Small World
Bettye H. Galloway on Galloway: Faulkner's Small World
Ruby Begonia on Family Catching Rebel Fever
Greg Millar on The Hoka
Greg Millar on The Hoka
Greg Millar on The Hoka
Greg Millar on The Hoka
jeff the busy eater on Cooking With Kimme: Baked Brie
Travis Yarborough on Reflections: The Square
BAD TASTE IN MY MOUTH on Oxford is About to Receive a Sweet Treat
baby travel systems australia on Heaton: 8 Southern Ways to Heckle in SEC Baseball
Rajka Radenkovich on Eating Oxford: Restaurant Watch
Richard Burns on Reflections: The Square
Guillermo Perez Arguello on Mississippi Quote Of The Day
A Friend with a Heavy Heart on Remembering Dr. Stacy Davidson
Harold M. "Hal" Frost, Ph.D. on UM Physical Acoustics Research Center Turns 30
Educated Citizen on Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving
Debbie Crenshaw on Trump’s Tough Road Ahead
Treadway Strickland on Wicker Looks Ahead to New Congress
Tony Ryals on parking
Heather Lee Hitchcock on ‘Pray for Oxford’ by Shane Brown
Heather Lee Hitchcock on ‘Pray for Oxford’ by Shane Brown
Dr Donald and Priscilla Powell on Deadly Plane Crash Leaves Eleven Children Behind
Dr Donald and Priscilla Powell on Deadly Plane Crash Leaves Eleven Children Behind
C. Scott Fischer on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
Sylvia Williams on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
Will Patterson on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
Rick Henderson on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
George L Price on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
on
Morgan Shands on Cleveland: On Ed Reed
Richard McGraw on Cleveland: On Cissye Gallagher
Branan Southerland on Gameday RV Parking at HottyToddy.com
Tom and Randa Baddley on Vassallo: Ole Miss Alum Finds His Niche
26 years and continuously learning on Ole Miss Puts History In Context With Plaque
a Paterson on Beyond Barton v. Barnett
Phil Higginbotham on ‘Unpublished’ by Shane Brown
Bettina Willie@www.yahoo.com.102Martinez St.Batesville,Ms.38606 on Bomb Threat: South Panola High School Evacuated This Morning
Anita M Fellenz, (Emilly Hoffman's CA grandmother on Ole Miss Spirit Groups Rank High in National Finals
Marilyn Moore Hughes on Vassallo: Ole Miss Alum Finds His Niche
Jaqundacotten@gmail williams on HottyToddy Hometown: Hollandale, Mississippi
Finney moore on Can Ole Miss Grow Too Big?
diane faulkner cawlley on Oxford’s Olden Days: Miss Annie’s Yard
Phil Higginbotham on ‘November 24’ by Shane Brown
Maralyn Bullion on Neely-Dorsey: Hog Killing Time
Beth Carr on A Letter To Mom
Becky on A Letter To Mom
Marilyn Tinnnin on A Letter To Mom
Roger ulmer on UM Takes Down State Flag
Chris Pool on UM Takes Down State Flag
TampaRebel on UM Takes Down State Flag
david smith on UM Takes Down State Flag
Boyd Harris on UM Takes Down State Flag
Jim (Herc @ UM) on Cleveland: Fall Vacations
Robert Hollingsworth on Rebels on the Road: Memphis Eateries
David McCullough on Shepard Leaves Ole Miss Football
Gayle G. Henry on Meet Your 2015 Miss Ole Miss
Guillermo F. Perez-Argüello on Neely-Dorsey: Elvis Presley’s Big Homecoming
Jennifer Mooneyham on ESPN: Ole Miss No. 1 in Nation
Wes McIngvale on Ole Miss Defeats Alabama
BARRY MCCAMMON on Ole Miss Defeats Alabama
Laughing out Loud on ESPN: Ole Miss No. 1 in Nation
Dr.Bill Priester on Cleveland: On Bob Priester
A woman who has no WHITE PRIVILEGE on Oxford Removes Mississippi Flag from City Property
A woman who has no WHITE PRIVILEGE on Oxford Removes Mississippi Flag from City Property
paulette holmes langbecker on Cofield on Oxford – Rising Ole Miss Rookie
Ruth Shipp Yarbrough on Cofield on Oxford — Lest We Forget
Karllen Smith on ‘Rilee’ by Shane Brown
Jean Baker Pinion on ‘The Cool Pad’ by Shane Brown
Janet Hollingsworth (Cavanaugh) on John Cofield on Oxford: A Beacon
Proud Mississippi Voter on Gunn Calls for Change in Mississippi Flag
Deloris Brown-Thompson on Bebe’s Letters: A WWII Love Story
Sue Ellen Parker Stubbs on Bebe’s Letters: A WWII Love Story
Tim Heaton on Heaton: Who is Southern?
Tim Heaton on Heaton: Who is Southern?
Karen fowler on Heaton: Who is Southern?
Don't Go to Law School on Four Legal Rebels Rising in the Real World
bernadette on Feeding the Blues
bernadette on Feeding the Blues
Joanne and Mark Wilkinson on Ron Vernon: a Fellowship of Music
Mary Ellen (Dring) Gamble on Ron Vernon: a Fellowship of Music
Cyndy Carroll on Filming it Up in Mississippi
Dottie Dewberry on Top 10 Secret Southern Sayings
Brother Everett Childers on ‘The Shack’ by Shane Brown
Mark McElreath on ‘The Shack’ by Shane Brown
Bill Wilkes, UM '57, '58, '63 on A Letter from Chancellor Dan Jones
Sandra Caffey Neal on Mississippi Has Proud Irish Heritage
Teresa Enyeart, and Terry Enyeat on Death of Ole Miss Grad, U.S. Vet Stuns Rebel Nation
P. D. Fyke on Wells: Steelhead Run
Johnny Neumann on Freeze Staying with Rebels
Maralyn Bullion on On Cooking Southern: Chess Pie
Kaye Bryant on Henry: E. for Congress
charles Eichorn on Hotty Tamales, Gosh Almighty
Jack of All Trades on Roll Over Bear Bryant
w nadler on Roll Over Bear Bryant
Stacey Berryhill on Oxford Man Dies in Crash
John Appleton on Grovin' Gameday Memories
Charlotte Lamb on Grovin' Gameday Memories
Guillermo F. Perez-Argüello on Two True Mississippi Icons
Morgan Williamson on A College Education is a MUST
Morgan Williamson on A College Education is a MUST
Jeanette Berryhill Wells on HottyToddy Hometown: Senatobia, Mississippi
Tire of the same ole news on 3 "Must Eat" Breakfast Spots in Oxford
gonna be a rebelution on Walking Rebel Fans Back Off the Ledge
Nora Jaccaud on Rickshaws in Oxford
Martha Marshall on Educating the Delta — Or Not
Nita McVeigh on 'I'm So Oxford' Goes Viral
Guillermo F. Perez-Argüello on How a Visit to the Magnolia State Can Inspire You
Charlie Fowler Jr. on Prawns? In the Mississippi Delta?
Martha Marshall on A Salute to 37 Years of Sparky
Sylvia Hartness Williams on Oxford Approves Diversity Resolution
Jerry Greenfield on Wine Tip: Problem Corks
Cheryl Obrentz on I Won the Lottery! Now What?
Bnogas on Food for the Soul
Barbeque Memphis on History of Tennessee Barbecue
Josephine Bass on The Delta and the Civil War
Nicolas Morrison on The Walking Man
Pete Williams on Blog: MPACT’s Future
Laurie Triplette on On Cooking Southern: Fall Veggies
Harvey Faust on The Kream Kup of the Krop
StarReb on The Hoka
Scott Whodatty Keetereaux Keet on Hip Hop — Yo or No, What’s Your Call
Johnathan Doeman on Oxford Man Dies in Crash
Andy McWilliams on The Warden & The Chief
Kathryn McElroy on Think Like A Writer
Claire Duff Sullivan on Alert Dogs Give Diabetics Peace of Mind
Jesse Yancy on The Hoka
Jennifer Thompson Walker on Ole Miss, Gameday From The Eyes of a Freshman
HottyToddy.com