Worlds come together with SUU’s production of “Carmina Burana”
By Ashley H Pollock
Southern Utah University’s departments of theater and dance and music are preparing for an exciting collaborative production of “Carmina Burana” and selected works, an original choreographed dance concert in collaboration with SUU choirs and orchestra and the Red Rock Singers. The concert will run Feb. 28 and March 1, 2, 3, and 5 at 7:30 p.m. with a matinee March 3 at 2 p.m. in the Randall L. Jones Theatre. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and children. SUU faculty, staff, and students are free with a valid ID card. Faculty and staff IDs are allowed one guest. Tickets can be purchased at the door the night of the show or online at suu.edu/pva.
Based on 24 poems from the collection of “Carmina Burana,” Carl Orff created a musical production that has impressed audiences since 1935. SUU’s theater and dance and music departments will assemble their collective talents to take this historic production one step further, pulling together dancers, choirs, and the orchestra in a dynamic production of movement, sound, design, and technology.
“Working with other performers to create an integrated work is perhaps the most effective way to learn workflow, artistic vision, perspective, roles, and concert and technology management,” said Patricia Meredith, an artistic director of this production. “The difficulty of the score, the sheer number of forces required, and the artistic and technological integration of this performance creates challenges. Working with students and colleagues to overcome these challenges are truly the best parts of working in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.”
“This performance isn’t only a dance performance,” said Nicole Holt, a senior dance performance major from Spanish Fork. “The music department is also participating. There will be live music that we will be dancing to. All year we have been rehearsing for this performance. There has been a lot of time and energy that has gone into putting this production together, not just by the dancers and faculty who are choreographing but also by the music department. It has been amazing to see everything come together and how our hard work is paying off.”
This production will incorporate community musicians as well. Founded in 2015 and composed of Iron County community members, the Red Rock Singers will join SUU’s choirs and orchestra to create the musical background of this performance.
“The most challenging part has been the rhythms of all the pieces I’ve worked on,” said Treyson Sherratt, a sophomore vocal performance major. “This production taught me that if I want to perform opera as a career then I need to take the right steps to truly know my music so I can be the best [instrument] for the music to speak through. It’s not enough to just stand there and sing notes. I must invest every bit of my heart and soul into this extraordinary piece of work.”
“Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana is well known as a tour de force, and SUU’s production will be no exception!” said Dr. Lawrence Johnson, chair for the department of music. “The department of music is excited to be a part of this major collaboration, with its orchestra and choirs joining forces with the department of theater arts and dance. After weeks of intensive rehearsals of this challenging music, the reward is going to be extraordinary when the students and faculty show off their talents and hard work. It may be decades before you see and hear again this grand of an undertaking of this unique masterpiece in our corner of the world, so be sure not to miss it!”
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