Carmina Burana feat. The Studio of Classical Dance Arts

Choral Arts Society of Southeastern Wisconsin and The Studio of Classical Dance Arts present Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, Saturday, March 17, 2018, 7 PM, and Sunday, March 18, 2018, 3 PM at the UW-Parkside Main Stage Theatre, University Drive, Kenosha, WI 53144

Southeastern Wisconsin will experience a new and exciting production of Carmina Burana this March on the Main Stage at The Rita on the UW-Parkside campus. The joys and agonies of youth, love, and fortune will be spectacularly presented by the 65-member Choral Arts Society and dancers from The Studio of Classical Dance Arts. Soloists Nancy Anne Davis, Benjamin Horvat, and Walter Boyer, plus young singers from Our Musical Life will join this spectacular production. The addition of two pianos, and a profusion of percussion will make this performance the boisterous feast for the senses composer Carl Orff intended.

Orff selected 24 medieval poems from “Songs of Beuern: Secular songs for singers and choruses to be sung together with instruments and magical images" which he set to music in 1936. His Carmina Burana premiered triumphantly in Frankfurt in 1937. Following this, he wrote to his publisher that this work was to mark the beginning of his career, and his earlier work should be disregarded. Carmina has become one of the most popular choral works of the 20th-21st centuries, and is usually performed in a concert setting. However, Orff developed the concept of “Theatrum Mundi” in which music, movement, and speech are inseparable, and Carmina Burana was intended to include dance, choreography, and visual design.

Tickets: Seating for this performance will be reserved. Adults $15 in advance/$17 at the door, Seniors $12 in advance/$14 at the door, Students $5. Advance tickets will be available at The Studio of Classical Dance Arts, online at www.choralartsonline.org, or at the door. Contact the CAS by Email at admin@choralartsonline.org, or call 262-634-3250.

The Studio of Classical Dance Arts is directed by the husband and wife team of Linda Bennett and Marc Darling, both former members of the Milwaukee Ballet Company. Local audiences will recognize The Studio and its dancers from its magical holiday production of “The Story of the Nutcracker.” www.classicaldancearts.com

Our Musical Life (OML) is a growing Racine music education nonprofit which seeks to facilitate and make accessible for all quality musical experiences, in the real world and online, that connect people of culturally diverse backgrounds locally and around the world. Vivre is a 2nd - 5th grade auditioned satellite choir through OML established this spring of 2018 at Giese Elementary School and will be performing in this production. www.OurMusicalLife.org

Linda Bennett trained at the American Ballet School, and in New York at the Joffrey Ballet School, where she also began teaching. After joining Milwaukee Ballet Company, she rose to the rank of soloist. Marc Darling began his career in Chicago under legendary instructors Bentley Stone and Walter Camryn, appearing in the famed Stone-Camryn Ballet after just two years of training. Marc performed soloist and principal roles with major ballet companies throughout the east and Midwest. Marc met his wife Linda while with the Milwaukee Ballet. Before opening The Studio in the fall of 2005, Marc and Linda served as faculty members for both the Milwaukee Ballet School and the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. Marc and Linda enjoy sharing their love of classical ballet with students of all ages and are excited to have the opportunity to develop and nurture America's next generation of young dancers.

Our Musical Life Artistic Executive Director Timothy Keith Griffin, Jr. now serves as the Music Specialist of Giese as of fall 2017. He is a graduate of UW Parkside with a B.A. in Music Education and will soon have his M.A. in Music Education from Anderson University in Indiana. He has been certified in the music pedagogy of Orff-Schulwerk through DePaul University. (Keith) is a past choral director with Milwaukee Children's Choir and is an acting board member of the Racine Symphony Orchestra.

The Choral Arts Society is a volunteer, auditioned community chorus of more than 65 singers. CAS celebrates the human spirit through choral music. In an atmosphere of fellowship and collaboration, the CAS fosters creative talents of musicians and composers. The CAS partners with others who share our passion for artistic excellence. Please visit www.choralartsonline.org.

This production is supported in part by a grant from The Racine Arts Council’s ArtSeed Grants Program, funded by The Osborne and Scekic Family Foundation and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin.

This season was supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.