On Saturday, May 18, the Juan Victoria Auditorium will be the echo chamber for an extraordinary concert, starring the Missouri State University Chorale, directed by the renowned Cameron LaBarr and hosted by the Arturo Beruti choir, conducted by María Elina Mayorga, with support from the provincial government. “Argentina Nights’ is what the MSU Chorale has called this presentation, a name taken from a work created especially for this South American tour, whose world premiere will take place in San Juan. It is a piece in three movements by William Averitt, with lyrics by Robert Bode, for chorus and four-hand piano.
“It is a fabulous choir that has also commissioned this work, Argentina Nights, from a composer to premiere in the Auditorium, so from an artistic point of view it has a special importance. And he will also make a diverse, very interesting and attractive repertoire,’ Mayorga told DIARIO DE CUYO. “The MSU is one of the most important choirs we have brought in in our history, of an outstanding level. He has just toured South Korea and performed at the President’s Concert, a very important celebration in the United States, with a union between classical and modern: Lord Nelson Mass, by Haydn, and a work for choir and orchestra composed for that occasion. What I want to say is that it is a choir with a really high artistic training,’ said the director from San Juan, recently arrived from the Cork International Choral Festival, Ireland, where she participated as a member of the Council of the Choral Festival Network; large window in which she also promoted the San Juan Canta International Choir Competition and Festival, which will take place in June 2025, with the also prestigious Dr. TJ Harper (Los Angeles, United States) as president of the jury.
The Chorale performs by special invitation at national and international festivals, conferences and competitions. During the last decade he has toured South Africa, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and China, among others; and has recorded several albums. It is directed by Dr. Cameron LaBarr, Doctor of Musical Arts, director of the Choral Studies program at the University of Missouri, where he also directs the Men’s Choir, the Grand Choir and the Chamber Choir. In parallel, he curates two choral series where he supports emerging and established composers. Working alongside him is Parker Payne, a collaborating pianist in the Choral Studies program and, among other things, a vocal member of the Grammy Recording Academy.
Not a minor fact, this trip to South America will also include the acclaimed young singer-songwriter Erich Eastman (It’ll be Alright, Fever Dreams, etc.), who will perform some of his latest pieces with the Chorale, in a recital that will once again raise the bar in shows of its kind in San Juan.
FACT
Argentina Nights. MSU Chorale and Beruti Choir. Saturday, May 18, at 9:30 p.m., at the Juan Victoria Auditorium. Contribution bonus $3000.
The program
Arturo Beruti Choir
– Cantate Domino, by Josu Elberdin
– I Hear Thy Voice, by Susan LaBarr
– Chacarera of the stones, by Atahualpa Yupanqui / VC Gustavo Felice – Guillermo Illanes, bass drum
MSU Chorale and Beruti Choir
– One of two, by Carlos Guastavino – From the cycle “Indianas’ / Parker Payne, piano
MSU Chorale
– Kyrie (2003), from Missa Regenis, by Ugis PraulinÜ
– Avoonan Dbishmayya (2016), by Ilyas Iliya / Soloist: Jan Veljak, baritone
– O Salutaris Hostia (2009), by Eriks EÜenvalds / Soloists: Emily Owings, soprano; Gabrielle Pierle, soprano
– The last coffee, by Cátulo Castillo, Héctor Stamponi / VC Emilio Dublanc
– Two Songs, by Ruthie Foster: 1. Mama Said 2. Death Came a Knockin’
– Heavenly Home: Three American Songs, Traditional American Folk / VC Shawn Kirchner: 1. Hallelujah 2. Angel Band 3. Unclouded Day
– The Times They Are A-Changin’, by Bob Dylan / VC Adam Podd
– It’ll Be Alright, by Erich Eastman /Erich Eastman, guitar and soloist
– Mary Had a Baby, Traditional Spiritual / VC Roland Carter, Soloist: Tanner Munson, tenor
– Argentina Nights, by William Averitt, Robert Bode / Parker Payne and Jim Wilson, four-hand piano: I. Jungle Night II. La Plata Serenade III. They Dance
