The Kentucky Wesleyan Singers joined the Owensboro Symphony in concluding the Symphony’s 58th season on April 20 with a show titled “The Crown Jewel.” The Symphony performance showcased the music of English composers Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughn Williams, William Walton, and more.
Among the show’s featured pieces was Vaugh Williams’ “Dona Nobis Pacem,” a six-movement cantata that translates to “grant us peace.” The Wesleyan Singers performed alongside the Owensboro Symphony Chorus and Orchestra. In all, 80 singers brought to life lyrics taken from the Mass, Walt Whitman poems, and the Bible.
The show also featured guest artists Deanna Breiwick and three-time Grammy Award winning bass-baritone Dashon Burton.
Heather Mapes, a Kentucky Wesleyan College theatre student and member of the Wesleyan Singers, considers the performance a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“I don’t know if there will ever be a time that I will do this again,” Mapes said. “When [Professor Dennis Jewett] told us that we may get lost in the moment, I definitely did a few times when we first rehearsed with the orchestra. I am over the moon right now with pure bliss.”
The Owensboro Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Music Director Troy Quinn. Quinn also serves as the Music Director for the Santa Monica Symphony and the Venice Symphony and is a faculty member at the University of California’s Thornton School of Music. Dennis Jewett, Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Kentucky Wesleyan, leads the Owensboro Symphony Chorus and the Wesleyan Singers.