Opera Singer Headlines Seminary Retrospective Concert

TAHLEQUAH The songs of Seminary days will ring out once again on the grounds of Northeastern State University with the presentation of Rosebuds: Seminary Hall 1908 featuring internationally acclaimed opera singer Barbara McAlister.

The concert, part of the NSU Centennial Countdown, will celebrate the heritage of the Cherokee National Female Seminary on Sunday, Sept. 14 at 2 p.m. in the NSU Center for the Performing Arts.

This is a wonderful opportunity to highlight the importance of the Seminary and its enduring influence on NSU and northeastern Oklahoma, said Mark Bighley, chair of the Department of Performing Arts at NSU.

Rosebuds: Seminary Hall 1908 is modeled on recitals and concerts that took place during the years of the Female Seminary.

McAlister returns to NSU to join members of the NSU music faculty and other friends for a performance celebrating the contributions of the Cherokee National Female Seminary. NSU music faculty members Amanda Mansheim, Robert Daniel and Ronald Chioldi will join McAlister on stage. The University Singers, under the direction of Donald Studebaker, will also take part, as well as Julie Pearson Little-Thunder, Betty Jo Hays, Francie Fite, Max McCullough and others.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith and NSU President Don Betz will highlight the history of partnerships between NSU and the Cherokee Nation. In addition to the musical portion, Seminary Hall will be remembered in various narrations and readings from the time.

McAlister has appeared as mezzo soloist in concert at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Weil Recital Hall, and has appeared with such prominent orchestras as the Houston Symphony, the Dsseldorf Symphony and the Symphony in Ulm. Of Cherokee heritage, she has appeared in recital for the Mid-America Arts Alliance Touring Program and the Oklahoma State Arts Council Touring Program, singing opera arias and American Indian songs in the Cherokee language. She created the role of Qualla in Lindor Chlarssons opera Mountain Windsong, based on the Cherokee Trail of Tears, and played Selu in the musical drama Trail of Tears.

Admission is free to the public. The NSU College of Liberal Arts will host a reception in Seminary Hall following the concert. The NSU College of Liberal Arts and the NSU Foundation are sponsoring the evenings events.

For further information, contact the NSU music department at 918-444-2700.

9/3/2008

Published: 2008-09-03 00:00:00