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Andrew Carter Festival to be held Sunday

By John Andert '10
April 14, 2008

St. Olaf College is presenting the Andrew Carter Festival Sunday, April 20, at 3:30 p.m. in Boe Memorial Chapel. The concert will feature the St. Olaf Orchestra along with the St. Olaf Choir, St. Olaf Chapel Choir and St. Olaf Cantorei choral ensembles. The performance also will include St. Olaf faculty members John Ferguson and Catherine Rodland '87 on organ, Martin Hodel on trumpet and soprano Tracey Gorman '93.

Prior to the concert on Sunday, Andrew Carter -- the English composer for whom the festival has been named -- will discuss his work Thursday, April 17, at 11:30 a.m. in Christiansen Hall of Music, Urness Recital Hall. The Thursday and Sunday events are free and open to the public and will be streamed live and archived at stolaf.edu.

Carter is best known for his choral miniatures and large works for choir and orchestra that have been published by Oxford University Press. He also wrote Missa Sancti Pauli for the 1997 tercentenary celebrations of London's St Paul's Cathedral. In addition, several of his carols have been performed on the Christmas Eve broadcast from King's College Chapel in Cambridge. Most recently, BBC Magazine named Andrew Carter's Christmas Carols, conducted by the composer, as one of the "10 best ever" Christmas CDs. "He has an ear for the elliptical, harmonically ambiguous traditional carols, and transforms them into exquisite art songs," stated the magazine's review.

Carter attended Leeds University before settling in York, England, where he founded the Chapter House Choir -- an award-winning mixed concert group that he conducted for 17 years. He also was the bass soloist at York Minister, where he sang daily evensongs under the direction of renowned organist and composer Francis Jackson. Last year he wrote a 22-variation Passacaglia in honor of Jackson's 90th birthday.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.