Musica Sacra in The Matter of Music: Energy April 26, 2013

Augustana Arts presents

The Matter of Music: Energy

featuring

Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra

Directed by David Rutherford

Special Guest Soloists Arlette Townsend, Violin; William Hinkie, Viola

E=mc2. Thanks to Albert Einstein, we know that all matter contains energy, and The Matter of Music contains infinite energy! The MSCO season culminates in an energetic and exciting collaboration with the Denver Art Museum (with a second performance at Augustana Lutheran Church) that explores the creative energy in music and the dynamic relationship between audience and performers. The program includes Mozart, Michael Torke, Richard Wagner, Edward Elgar, and a special work commissioned just for this performance.

MSCO, with the assistance of a Bonfils-Stanton Innovation grant, commissioned David Mullikin, composer and cellist in the Colorado Symphony, to compose a work for this program that includes the energy of the audience in the performance experience. His piece, Mosi-oa-Tunya, sets the spoken words of Dr. David Livingstone, upon his discovery of Victoria Falls in Africa in 1855, and incorporates sounds created by the audience.

Augustana Arts presents the Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra in The Matter of Music: Energy at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 26 at the Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave Pkwy, Denver, CO 80204 with an encore performance on Saturday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. at Augustana Lutheran Church, 5000 E. Alameda Ave., Denver. Tickets are $20 Adult / $15 Senior & Student / $8 Children ages 5 - 12 (children under 5 are free) and available by calling 303-388-4962 or online at www.augustanaarts.org for April 27 performance. To purchase tickets for the April 26 performance at the Denver Art Museum, please go to www.mscodenver.org.

Throughout the program, the orchestra will be interfacing with and interpreting a highly interactive visual artwork by Denver Art Museum featured artists Annica Cuppetelli (USA) and Cristobal Mendoza (Venezuela), who began their artistic collaboration in the Fall of 2010. Their work has been exhibited in the Biennial of Video and Media Arts (Chile, 2012) and festivals such as Scopitone 2012 (FR), ISEA 2012, FILE 2011 (BRA), FAD 2011 (BRA), video_dumbo 2011 (NYC, USA) among others. Cuppetelli obtained her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art (Fibers, 2008) and Mendoza at the Rhode Island School of Design (Digital Media, 2007). Mendoza is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Art and Art History at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI, where they are based.

The Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra, the orchestra-in-residence at Augustana Lutheran Church, is well known for its performances of baroque and classical masterworks and for its exploration of lesser-known historic and contemporary repertoire. The musicians of the Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra bring a variety of training and experience to the ensemble and a wide array of performing experience.

David Rutherford is Music Director for Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra and the Valor Symphonics Youth Orchestra in Highlands Ranch and was the founder of the Snake River Chamber Orchestra in Idaho. David is also an award winning broadcaster, heard weekday afternoons (and also on Sunday morning for Sacred Classics) on KVOD, Colorado Public Radio's Classical Music Service at 88.1FM in the Denver Metro area.

Since 1997, Augustana Arts has been serving the community by presenting the artistry of resident performing groups, internationally renowned touring artists and accomplished locally-based ensembles of many genres. The resident groups, Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra (MSCO) and the Colorado Women's Chorale (CWC) perform at a variety of venues in addition to the majestic Augustana Lutheran Church in Denver. Augustana Arts serves educational outreach through the City Strings program, an inspired vision guided by violinist Robyn Sosa. City Strings provides access to high quality, private music instruction free of cost to metro area students.

Augustana Arts concerts and programs are made possible in part by generous support from the citizens of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, the Anschutz Foundation, the Augustana Foundation, the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation and several other community partners.

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Augustana Arts gathers the community, supports the arts and delights the spirit. Visit our website for more details at www.augustanaarts.org.