Cal Poly Early Music Ensemble Presents “A Parisian Feast” May 21

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly’s 16-voice Early Music Ensemble will present “A Parisian Feast” on Friday, May 21, at 8 p.m. in the Pavilion of the Performing Arts Center’s Christopher Cohan Center.

The concert will feature chansons of the 16th century. A chanson is the French cousin of the English and Italian madrigal.

Composers represented will include Josquin des Pres, Claudin de Sermisy, Pierre Certon, Claude Le Jeune and Clément Janequin. Some pieces were written for the aristocracy and others for popular consumption. Some tell stories, while others are on sentimental or humorous themes.

Music Professor Thomas Davies, conductor of the ensemble, will guide the audience through the compositional styles and techniques of the evenings’ selections. Accompanist Paul Woodring and Cassandra Tarantino, choir director for the Cuesta College North County campus, will accompany the ensemble on recorders, the forerunner of today’s flute.

Members of the Early Music Ensemble include sopranos Natalie deBruijn, Lisa Figel, Amy Beth Nickelson, Sarah Nulton and Theresa Riforgiate; altos Katie Dugan, Katelyn Neumann, Karlie Saenz and Claire Twaddell; tenors Gurveer Deol, Evan Griffith and Jonathan Presley; and basses John Cape, Brian Holliday, Erland Mowinckel and Nathan Wood.

Tickets are $12 for the public and $8 for seniors and students, on sale at the Performing Arts Ticket Office from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekends. To order online, visit www.pacslo.org; by phone, call SLO-ARTS (805-756-2787); or by fax, dial 805-756-6088.

The concert is sponsored by Cal Poly’s College of Liberal Arts, Music Department and Instructionally Related Activities program. For more information, call the Music Department at 805-756-2406.

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