Wesleyan Concert Choral Presents:
“A Celebration of Nature”
Under the Direction of L.R. Parsons
May 10th, 7:30p.m.
at
The Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew
520 Clinton Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11238
About the Program:
“The idea of the Celebration of Nature came about when I found a setting of the Gerard
Manley Hopkins poem, ‘God’s Grandeur,’” Parsons explained. “Typically when I choose
music for the chorale to perform, the text is primary. I try to open students’ minds to
great words and great literature in addition to great music. Occasionally I read poetry to
the group at the end of a rehearsal. Words are so important, and in working with the
chorale, I have the best of both worlds – the words, and the music set to those words.”
The group will perform Joseph Haydn’s masterpiece, “The Creation,” in addition to a
setting of “God’s Trombones,” a poem by James Wheldon Johnson. “The performance
will celebrate the European idea of Creation, as well as the African American idea of
Creation,” Parsons explained. “Balanced around those pieces will be pieces that speak to
the celebration of the stars, the moon, humanity, and Nature itself. We work to build
music around these ideas.”
The performance will also include settings of James Agee’s poem, “Sure on This Shining
Night” and e.e. cummings’ “I Thank You, God,” in addition to a hymn penned by St.
Francis of Assisi.
This concert is free and open to the public!
More information about the Choir and Conductor on Reverse
West Virginia Wesleyan College Concert Chorale
West Virginia Wesleyan College has a long and rich choral heritage. As in many small, private church-related
schools, students come together from diverse backgrounds and majors to give the time and discipline to sing great
choral literature.
The present Concert Chorale is an outgrowth of an invitation from the Austrian Methodist Church to sing at the
celebration of its 100tth anniversary during the summer of 1970.
That tour was to be the first of many European experiences for the Chorale. It also marked the first commission by
the choir, Lloyd Pfautsch’s In Terra Pax. Since that first commission, Concert Chorale has premiered ten works
written for the group by Lloyd Pfautsch, Daniel Pinkham, Daniel Moe, Chester Biscardi, Phillip Rhodes, Scott
Lindroth, Sidney Hodkinson, and Steve Heitzeg.
Concert Chorale has appeared frequently with the W. V. Symphony Orchestra. Works sung with the Symphony in
recent years include William Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast, Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No 2 (The Resurrection),
Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, Handel’s Messiah,, Brahm’s Ein Deutsches Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and
Verdi’s Requiem.
Dr. Larry R. Parsons
As a musician, teacher and mentor, Larry Parsons has devoted his professional career to creating music, expanding
minds and improving the quality of higher learning radiating from the heart of West Virginia.
Dr. Parsons, a native of Kansas, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in organ performance from Kansas Wesleyan
University, a Master of Music degree in Conducting from Southern Methodist University and a Doctor of Musical
Arts degree from the University of Illinois. His musical skills were shaped by conductors Lloyd Pfautsch, Harold
Decker, Daniel Moe and Paul Vermiel and vocal teachers Eugene Conley, Richard Owens, William Warfield and
William Whitesides.
Dr. Parsons joined the faculty of West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1968, where he still serves as Professor of
Music and Director of Choral Activities, and, since 2004, as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the
College. Over the past forty-two years, he has nurtured countless students in pursuit of all styles of vocal and choral
arts, the development of musical expression and the awareness of art and beauty that surround us. He conducts the
Concert Chorale and Concentus Vocum ensembles and he established Wesleyan Singers in 2000.
In addition to his collegiate ensembles, Dr. Parsons has also provided many other choristers in West Virginia with
musical outlets. As part of his doctoral project, the renowned Larry Parsons Chorale was founded in 1978 to
cultivate professional-caliber singing in West Virginia. In 1985, Dr. Parsons was named as the first Chorus Master
of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, a post which he held until 1993. Camerata Appalachia (a.k.a. London
Loch Lomond Chorale) was founded by Dr. Parsons and three colleagues to take "American style" choral singing
(and singers ranging in age from 17 to 70) to Europe, touring the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Germany
and the Czech Republic.
The awards that Dr. Parsons has received over the years are a clear testament to his dedication to the arts, arts
education and to the state of West Virginia. In 1998, he was named a "Distinguished West Virginian." In 2000, he
received the Governor's Award as Outstanding Performing Artist. Wesleyan Alumni gave him the "Extra Mile"
Award in 2003. He was the recipient of the Jean Singer Award from the American Choral Directors Association,
recognizing him as a champion of the choral arts in West Virginia. And in 2006, WVWC choir alumni and friends
established the Larry R. Parsons Endowed Chair in Music in his honor.
Dr. Parsons's more recent appointment as VP of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College has allowed him to
extend his commitment to theoretical and experiential learning to the college community as a whole.
He is married to Sarah Louise Carr, '81, and his four children all received degrees from WVWC. He has a welldeserved reputation as a none-too-shabby cook with a particular affinity for sauces and soups. And pastas.