My commute to and from St. Norbert takes me past the campus of another Wisconsin school, Lawrence University and, every now and then if I’ve been working into the evening I’ll stop there on the way home to take in a student concert or faculty recital. The standard at the conservatory is very high, the repertoire is interesting and the student musicians are (almost!) as engaging as ours. You can more or less bank on finding something musical going on any night during the semester, and it’s a great way to close out the day.
Last night’s choir concert threw up an unexpected bonus treat in the form of a shout-out to our own composition prof, Blake Henson. Graduating student musicians had a chance to name their most memorable experiences during their time as members of the conservatory’s several excellent choirs. One student offered the experience of performing Henson’s “My Flight to Heaven,” with the composer present – and, indeed, seeing Henson rendered speechless himself by the power of their performance.
This LU student was from Gloucester, England, a cathedral city know for its stunning church music, so I imagine he had had a rich musical education before he ever arrived at college. And just to be clear, names like Britten and Handel were also being bandied about the stage as others stepped forward.
We shared another Henson piece, “August Moonrise,” with readers in our Summer 2012 issue. Here’s a chance to enjoy it once more: http://www.snc.edu/communications/magazine/2012v44n2/hensonextra.html.
