Celebration of Mind, Body and Faith

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Celebration of Mind, Body and FaithA musical tribute sponsored by the Red River Chorale, and performed in collaboration with the Rapides Symphony Orchestra, will honor three anchor institutions in Central Louisiana that are celebrating anniversaries this year – Louisiana State University at Alexandria, Christus St. Frances Cabrini Hospital and the Diocese of Alexandria.  The concert will be performed twice, once on October 23rd at 7:30pm and again on October 24th at 2:30pm, at the Coughlin-Saunders Performing Arts Center in downtown Alexandria.

Celebration of Mind, Body and Faith“Celebration of Mind/Body/Faith” will honor the 50th anniversary of LSUA-Alexandria, the 60th year of Christus Cabrini Hospital and the 100th year of the Diocese.  Music and history will combine as historical and photographic memories will be presented between musical selections representing the missions of each organization.  The Chorale and the Symphony will be joined by soprano Mary Ann Robinson and mezzo-soprano Sonja Bruzauskas representing the sacred aspect of the program in Vivaldi’s “Gloria” honoring the Diocese’s anniversary.  The Chorale and Symphony also will combine for works by three composers who shaped the “American Sound” in the last half of the 20th century – Howard Hanson, Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein.  Hanson’s “Song of Democracy” with text written by Walt Whitman, celebrates the role of education in the preservation of American democracy.  The concert will close with Copland’s “Promise of Living” and Bernstein’s “Make Our Garden Grow,” with texts that refer to the value of life, its promises and the hope of growth, sentiments representative of all three institutions.

The concert will mark the premiere of a custom-made acoustical shell that will greatly improve the acoustical environment at the Coughlin-Saunders Performing Arts Center.   Funds for the shell, which will improve the musicians’ ability to balance and blend their sound, were provided primarily by the Coughlin-Saunders Foundation.  Tickets are $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for students of any age and can be purchased in advance by calling the Chorale at (318) 484-4463 or at the door on a space-available basis.