Dakota Valley Sympothy Presents "An Armed Man, A Mass for Peace"

For more information, contact Rebecca Sterner, 952-469-3450, r@rebeccasterner.com
Dakota Valley Symphony and 191 Lakeville High School Students to Present 
“The Armed Man, a Mass for Peace” on February 9.
The choirs from Lakeville North High School and Lakeville South High School will join the Dakota Valley Symphony and Chorus on February 9. 
The three choirs and orchestra will be performing The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace. The piece by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins takes the form a of a Catholic Mass, but integrates other materials including a Renaissance folk song, Bible passages from Psalms and Revelation, and the Islamic call to prayer, plus texts from Rudyard Kipling, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and Sankichi Toge, a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing.

The piece was commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum in Great Britain and dedicated to Kosovo war victims. While vividly presenting the agony of war, the Mass ends with hope that there will be no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying, and no more pain.

Lakeville North Director of Choirs Jamye Casperson said, “The Armed Man collaboration with Dakota Valley Symphony and Chorus is a fabulous opportunity. As a new director at North, it gives me the chance to share an amazing musical experience with a talented group of singers in my first year. To sing in a venue like BPAC and with a symphony orchestra is something my students and I will remember for a long time. These singers thrive when they are challenged and I am looking forward to seeing how far they progress while preparing this music.”

Julie Brott, Director of Choirs at Lakeville South High School said, “I feel very fortunate to collaborate with Stephen Ramsey, and the Dakota Valley Symphony and Chorus. This is the second time that Lakeville South Chorale has been a part of the Three Choirs Festival. The opportunity to sing a masterwork inter-generationally will be a moving experience; it is chance 
to share the beauty of music as a universal language and share the message of this work."

The Sunday afternoon program will also feature Dr. Angela Hanson’s solo performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No.5 (The Turkish) and Egyptian March op.335 by Strauss Jr.

During intermission the Dakota Valley Symphony will conduct their annual silent auction and “Wall of Wine” fund-raiser.
T
he concert will be performed on Sunday, February 9 at 3 p.m. More information can be found at www.DakotaValleySymphony.org. 

Tickets for the concert range from $5 to $16 and can be purchased in person at the BPAC Box Office, or via Ticketmaster at 800-982-2787 or ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices listed include facility fees. Additional service charges and handling fees may apply.

Burnsville Performing Arts Center, 12600 Nicollet Avenue, Burnsville MN 55337-4680
952-895-4680

Dakota Valley Symphony was created to provide an opportunity for skilled volunteer musicians to join together to perform and promote diverse symphonic musical experiences of all periods and styles for residents of the south suburban Twin Cities area. The group also provides a forum 
for aspiring local composers to premiere their work.

The symphony is comprised of a 60-member symphony orchestra, a 40-member mixed chorus and a 90-member Summer Pops orchestra and chorus, all under the direction of founder and music director Stephen J. Ramsey.