Music Students salute the city in a performance of Vivaldi and Rutter Glorias On Thursday, November 18, 2010, at Noon, the WSU Concert Chorale, Symphonic Chorus, Chamber Orchestra, and Wind Symphony will salute Downtown Detroit with an exciting performance at St. John's Episcopal, a Victorian Gothic church built in 1860. Concert Chorale, conducted by Norah Duncan IV, will perform Gloria, composed in the early 18th century, by Antonio Vivaldi. The WSU Symphonic Chorus and Wind Symphony, conducted by Douglas Bianchi, with Dr. Duncan as chorus master, will perform Gloria by John Rutter (1974).

Using the same ancient text, the pieces each reflect the musical style from the era during which they were composed. Vivaldi's Gloria, a Baroque piece, is made up of twelve choral movements with chamber orchestra. Rutter's Gloria, a theatrical, contemporary version, is comprised of three choral movements with brass, percussion and organ.

St. John's Episcopal is located on Woodward at I-75 in Downtown Detroit (next to Comerica Park). The concert is free and open to the public, however donations to the Department of Music will be accepted. Free parking is available in the church parking lot.

Founded in 1918, the Department of Music cultivates music as a contemporary and global art, grounded in a long historical tradition, by combining higher education with professional training and experience for its undergraduate and graduate/professional students. Building on the strengths of its geographic and cultural setting, the Department maintains public access to its performances and degree programs, offers high-level professional and academic standards and unique creative and scholarly opportunities appropriate to a large research university, and cultivates a deep aesthetic understanding of music in our students and the larger urban arts community.