College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

• On the road

  The ISU Chamber Singers are returning to Germany this June for a two-week residency.
  
  

• In his lifetime, Jeffrey Prater, professor of music, has written more than 50 musical pieces in various genres. Yet none have had quite the effect on him as his last composition.
  
  "This is a piece of passion for me," he said. "Not only is there a religious context to it, but it talks about the creative spirit and how it molds and shapes humankind.
  
  "Creativity is a mystery to most people," he continued, "and it found its way into my heart. I didn't choose this text. It chose me."
  
  The 45-minute composition entitled "Veni Creator Spiritus" (Come Creator Spirit) will be debuted in its entirety during the ISU Chamber Singers two-week residency in Germany this summer. Prater, who is the director of the Chamber Singers, premiered the first movement of his work in April 1997 on campus. The second movement was first performed last May. The third and final movement was completed just this spring, four years after Prater started work on it, making it the biggest musical piece he has ever composed.
  
  "Veni Creator Spiritus" is based on an 8th century Gregorian chant and text of the same title. In Germany it will be performed not only by the ISU Chamber Singers, but ISU music faculty soloists, a German choir and the Kaliningrad (Russia) State Symphony Orchestra. The ISU music ensemble will be in Germany for four benefit concerts for a German-Russian initiative for the rebuilding of the 14th century Koenigsberg Cathedral located in Kaliningrad.
  
  Prater's latest musical composition will be featured at two of those four concerts in the German cities of Hannover and Buckeburg. The benefit will be held in conjunction with EXPO-2000, the world's fair being held in Germany this summer.
  
  Each of the three movements of "Veni Creator Spiritus" are quite different Prater says and were created separately. Prominent throughout the entire piece however are a flute solo and a soprano solo. Elizabeth Sadilek, assistant professor of music, will perform the flute solo, while ISU alumnus, Amy Wagar, will be the featured soprano. A former member of the Chamber Singers, Wagar is currently singing professionally in New York City.
  
  Three other faculty members, Sue Haug, chair and associate professor; Barry Larkin, assistant professor; and Kevin Schilling, associate professor, will perform with the Russian orchestra. Randy Compton is the assistant director of the Chamber Singers.
  
  Prater says the flute represents the creative spirit in "Veni Creator Spiritus" while the voices represent human kind. His text, written and performed in Latin, ties the whole composition together.
  
  "The flute is a very flexible instrument," he said. "It can make any kind of different sounds -- creative sounds, sorrowful sounds and rejoicing sounds. In the third movement the flute will actually 'do battle' with the timpani."
  
  Sadilek is quite familiar with the work. She performed the first and second movements and has collaborated with Prater on the flute sections.
  
  "That has been a joy in itself," she said, "and to play internationally is icing on the cake. It's really a wonderful piece."
  
  Prater extended the same compliment to Sadilek.
  
  "This is an enormous solo flute part," he said. "Elizabeth is an absolutely phenomenal flutist and it's a joy to have her debut the final movement."
  
  The international aspect of the production has Prater and Sadilek both excited and concerned. The Chamber Singers, Sadilek, Wagar and the other music faculty members will begin rehearsals for one week in late May. Rehearsals won't begin with the Russian orchestra and German choir until the ISU group arrives in Germany, just days before the world premiere of Prater's piece.
  
  While the different languages may be an initial problem, the opportunity afforded these faculty members and the Chamber Singers will more than make up for any hassles.
  
  "The professional opportunity to have my composition performed for this type of audience and with this type of orchestra will be worth any troubles," Prater said.
  
  Prater's familiarity with Germany will also come in handy. Five years ago he led the ISU Chamber Singers on a two-week residency in Buckeburg where they were active participants in that city's celebration of its most famous composer, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, the second youngest son of J.S. Bach.
  
  Prior to that he spent the 1988-89 academic year in Germany on a faculty improvement leave.
  
  During these stays, Prater became familiar with the efforts to rebuild the Koenigsberg Cathedral in Kaliningrad. After World War II, the city and cathedral were under Soviet occupation and the heavily damaged cathedral was not repaired.
  
  Since the Berlin Wall came down, a joint Russian-German initiative has begun to reconstruct this important cultural and religious landmark. Several of the steeples and the sanctuary roof have now been replaced, but the interior has just begun to be restored. A series of concerts have been scheduled this summer in conjunction with EXPO-2000.
  
  "Because of the great successes of our German residency in 1995, the Chamber Singers were asked to return to perform on these benefit concerts," Prater said.
  
  "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our students. Not only do they get to live with a German family during the two weeks, but they also get to brush shoulders with a vastly different culture."
  
  

Around LAS
April 17-23, 2000

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