Mansfield Fall Choral Collage

Commonwealth University-Mansfield’s Annual Fall Choral Collage will be presented on Sunday, Oct. 15, at 2:30 p.m. in Mansfield’s Steadman Theatre.

The Choral Collage presents each of the campus choral ensembles: Grace Notes (sopranos and altos), Steadman Singers (tenors and basses), Chamber Singers, Festival Chorus, and Concert Choir in their first major appearances of the season. Peggy Dettwiler, Director of Choral Activities, will lead the program entitled “Common Ground.” The selections to be performed honor the history of this region: Native Americans who gave names to towns, rivers and sites in this area, the Underground Railroad where enslaved people escaped to the north, and Cherry Springs Park, where stargazers today enjoy the night sky.   

Works honoring the Underground Railroad, one path of which went through Mansfield, include “Follow the Drinking Gourd” by André Thomas and “Harriet Tubman” by Walter Robinson. Native Americans lived all over the eastern United States for thousands of years before they were forced to move west. Their story is powerfully expressed in “Cherokee Morning Song” by Michael Yannette, "The American Indian Songs" by Kenneth Jennings, and “Chante Waste Hoksilla,” a Lakota Lullaby. A unique composition by Eriks Esenvalds titled “Stars” incorporates six tuned glasses to imitate shining stars like those seen at Cherry Springs State Park, which is celebrated for its dark sky. Other works include a setting of “Amazing Grace,” “The Lord is My Shepherd” by John Rutter and a spiritual, “Motherless Child.”

The concert closes with the powerfully moving “Homeward Bound” composed by Marta Keen and arranged by Mack Wilberg for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It features four-hand piano accompaniment to be played by Logan Mann and Jason Gao. The concert will also feature a PowerPoint presentation with readings and historical information.