England's King's Singers Bring a World of A Cappella to Penn State
January 19, 2007
The King's Singers, six a cappella-singing Englishmen, bring joy to listeners with their wit, charm, flawless vocal technique and adventurous programming. The group performs one of its typically eclectic programs–featuring works by composers from England, Hungary, Finland, Estonia, South Africa and the United States–in a performance at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6, in Penn State's Eisenhower Auditorium.
The Center for the Performing Arts presentation includes songs composed by Cyrillus Kreek, Richard Rodney Bennett, Peter Maxwell Davies, Jackson Hill, Jean Sibelius, Peter Louis van Dijk, Zoltán Kodály and Paul Patterson.
Section one and two tickets are $36 and $29 for an adult, $20 and $12 for a University Park student and $26 and $19 for a person 18 and younger. For tickets and information, visit www.cpa.psu.edu or phone (814) 863-0255. Outside the local calling area, dial 1-800-ARTS-TIX. Tickets are also available at Eisenhower Auditorium and Bryce Jordan Center, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays; Penn State Tickets Downtown, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; and HUB-Robeson Center, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays. University Park Allocation Committee makes Penn State student prices possible.
Founded in 1968 at King's College in Cambridge, the King's Singers have become one of the world's most acclaimed and popular vocal ensembles. Whether singing a Renaissance madrigal or a Zulu lullaby, the King's Singers, trained in the English cathedral choir tradition, are confident enough to tackle anything.
Countertenors David Hurley and Robin Tyson, tenor Paul Phoenix, baritones Philip Lawson and Christopher Gabbitas and bass Stephen Connolly have performed on the great stages of North America, Europe and Asia. Their travels have taken them as far abroad as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. This season the group is scheduled to perform more than 100 concerts in 14 countries.
During the last three decades, the ensemble has commissioned more than 200 works by prominent composers from across the planet. The group's extensive discography includes the recent albums Sacred Bridges, 1605: Treason and Discord and Street Songs. From Byrd to the Beatles, a performance DVD, was released in 2006.
"A packed house and standing ovation (a D.C. specialty) attested to the fact that this is an ensemble that has figured out how to please," a Washington Post reviewer writes of a Kennedy Center performance. "If the King's Singers can't put a smile on your face," writes a Dallas Morning News critic, "you're a pretty hopeless grump."
Allegheny Power sponsors the performance. WPSU is the media sponsor. Artistic Viewpoints, an informal moderated discussion featuring a visiting artist or local expert, is offered in Eisenhower Auditorium one hour before the performance and is free for ticket holders. Artistic Viewpoints regularly fills to capacity. Seating is available on a first-arrival basis.
Contact: Laura Sullivan, 814-863-6379