von der Mehden Recital Hall

Samuel Barber and James Agee’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and Richard Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder, with text by Hermann Hesse and Johann Eichendorff. Additional works include Franz Liszt’s settings of poems by Victor Hugo and arias by composer George Frideric Handel and librettist Giacomo Rossi

Lorraine Rose Williams Stage Dedication Celebration - 2 pm - von der Mehden Recital Hall - Reception to follow in Zachs Family Fine Arts Administration Atrium

Please register here: https://www.events.foundation.uconn.edu/ereg/index.php?eventid=767309&utm_source=invitation&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=fy24wiliamsdedication100723

Please join us for a ceremony and performance to celebrate the dedication of the von der Mehden Recital Hall stage in honor of the late Lorraine Rose Williams, founder of UConn’s Voices of Freedom Gospel Choir. A reception will follow in the Zachs Family Fine Arts Administration Building. The naming of the Lorraine Rose Williams Stage celebrates Ms. Williams’ rich contributions to the UConn community and is a testament to her lasting legacy at the University.

Can’t join us in person? The program on the Lorraine Rose Williams Stage will be livestreamed here.

About the Voices of Freedom Gospel Choir

Ms. Williams founded the Voices of Freedom Gospel Choir, to create an environment that fostered the social, intellectual, and emotional growth of UConn’s African American and Black students. The choir grew under her leadership, performing across Connecticut and New York. The choir currently has more than 100 active members representing diverse races and ethnicities.

If you require a special accommodation to participate in this event or have questions, please contact Kate Gannon, Director of Alumni Relations, Diverse Alumni Communities via email or call the Office of Alumni Relations toll-free at (888) 822-5861. ​
 

Uconn Songfest performance.

Reserve tickets here.

General Admission is $10

Students/Children/Military/SFA Faculty and Staff have free admission

Reservations are required.

All ticket sales directly fund the operating costs of von der Mehden Recital Hall.

This concert will be livestreamed here

UConn Symphonic Band and UConn Wind Ensemble performance.

Purchase tickets here.

General Admission is $10

Students/Children/Military/SFA Faculty and Staff have free admission

Reservations are required.

All ticket sales directly fund the operating costs of von der Mehden Recital Hall.

This concert will be livestreamed here.

Tracing the African and Mesoamerican Origins of the Sarabande and the Chaconne

Though the sarabande and the chaconne were stylized sections of courtly suites by Baroque composers such as Scarlatti and Bach, their origins are far removed from any European court, stemming instead from New Spain. In a book about the Spanish colony in 1579, a Dominican friar described the sarabande as a lascivious dance and identified it with the indigenous population. However, at least one surviving song — a villancico for Christmas — links it with enslaved Africans, suggesting that both populations were involved in the creation of the genre. In this program, Ensemble Origo aims to contextualize these origins, showing how a song that mentions the dance was likely performed following Christmas services. The next two sections of the concert trace the printing history of both genres (which were related at one time) from simple guitar strumming patterns that sometimes accompanied voices to the stylized instrumental works adopted by hundreds of European composers in the centuries that followed. The program aims to bring the what is known of the genres’ lost—or suppressed—histories to light.

All students have free admission. General admission is $10. Purchase tickets for the concert here

This concert will be livestreamed here