LANSING SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PRESENTS ‘CARMINA BURANA’

Date & Time: Friday, Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m. Location: Wharton Center for Performing Arts — Cobb Great Hall Tickets: $58, $45, $25 Box Office: 517-487-5001 or LansingSymphony.org LANSING, Mich. — Join the Lansing Symphony Orchestra (LSO) performing Carl Orff’s iconic cantata “Carmina Burana” for the second MasterWorks concert. Performing with the orchestra will be a 250-voice choir combining the MSU University Chorale, the State Singers and the Choral Union and guest vocalists Penelope Shumate, David Shaler and Babatunde Akinboboye. “We are thrilled to have so many talented vocalists alongside the orchestra for this MasterWorks concert,” said Timothy Muffitt, LSO music director and conductor. Shumate has been described as having a “voice with power” and a “welcome fire” on stage. The New York Times praised her recent performance as the soprano soloist in “Messiah” for her David Geffen Hall debut at Lincoln Center, stating she “sang the soprano solos with appealing bell-like clarity and surpassing sweetness.” For her return to David Geffen Hall, she performed as a soloist in “Carmina Burana,” a work that also marked her Carnegie Hall debut and return engagements. Shaler is the full-time director of music at Broadmoor United Methodist Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he has served since 2001 as conductor of choral and instrumental ensembles and as a singer, pianist and trumpet player. Shaler sang as a countertenor for five years with the professional male ensemble Chanticleer, touring nationally and internationally in concerts and making several recordings. As a countertenor soloist, he has sung for various collegiate and community groups. He has been a member of professional choral workshops and concerts at Carnegie Hall with conductors Robert Shaw, Peter Schreier and Helmuth Rilling. Shaler was born and raised in Saginaw, Michigan. Nigerian American baritone Akinboboye is a singer of diverse talents known for his enthralling stage presence. His most recent performances include Daggoo in LA Opera’s “Moby Dick,” Escamillo in Pacific Opera Project’s production of “Carmen” and Lucha’s father in The Industry’s production of “Hopscotch.” As an advocate for the performance of art song and operatic works written by African and African American composers, Akinboboye has headlined the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry awards in Lagos, Nigeria, performing a fusion of opera and traditional African music, and has been a featured performer at both the National Association of Negro Musicians Annual Conference and the African American Art Song Alliance Conference. This thrilling concert opens with the joyous and uplifting “Umoja Anthem of Unity,” a new work by living composer Valerie Coleman. In 1997, Coleman, unhappy with the underrepresentation of musicians of color in the classical music world, founded Imani Winds, a wind quintet. Coleman remains its flutist and composer-in-residence, often incorporating elements of jazz and the music of the South. The concert concludes with “Carmina Burana,” an iconic piece of classical music used frequently in commercials, movies and modern culture because of its power, effectiveness and evocative qualities. ​ In addition to the soloists, the Michigan State University Chorale, State Singers and Choral Union will join the LSO. For complete details, visit lansingsymphony.org or call the LSO office at 517-487-5001. This concert is sponsored by MSU Federal Credit Union and AF Group.