The 95-member Marquette Choral Society will present their Spring concert – “The Night Psalms” – at the NMU Reynolds Recital Hall on April 28th (7:30 PM) and April 29th (3:00 PM). The concert features two cantatas from different historical eras, connected in part by the poet Walt Whitman and in whole by the resolution of deep concerns with a profound optimism.

“The Night Psalms” (World Premiere at these concerts!) was commissioned by the Marquette Choral Society from local composer Griffin Candey. This work is set to the words of local poet Kathleen M. Heideman and Anastasia Pennington-Flax as well as Whitman. Optimistic that we will learn from our history, the work considers the interaction of the human population and the natural world.

The cantata “Dona Nobis Pacem” was composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams in the early 1930s in a reaction to the horrors of World War I with optimistic hope for peace among nations. Texts were drawn from poetry by John Bright and the Bible as well as Whitman.

Both cantatas will feature soprano soloist Aani Bourassa (praised for her “brilliant, yet sparkling high notes”) and baritone soloist Dan Moore (deemed “excellent” by the New York Times) along with the Choral Society and a moderate orchestra. Composer Candey and poet Heideman will offer a pre-concert talk half an hour before each performance.

General admission tickets (adults: $10; students: $6) are available from the standard ticket outlets (Berry Events Center, Forest Roberts Theater, etc.), online at tickets.nmu.edu, and at the door.