College continues to celebrate its 100th Anniversary with the musical re-creation of "The Highwayman"

Release Date: 10/02/12

DULUTH, MN -The College of St. Scholastica will continue its year-long celebration of its Centennial by rescuing from obscurity a piece of Duluth's musical history.

The College will present a live performance of the orchestral work "The Highwayman" at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, in the Mitchell Auditorium on campus. Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for students, and free for St. Scholastica students and Sisters from St. Scholastica Monastery.

"The Highwayman" was written in 1940 by music faculty member Sister Martina Hughes, to words by the English poet Alfred Noyes. The poem narrates the story of a highwayman or robber who falls in love with an innkeeper's daughter on a dark, windy night. Directing a professional orchestra and an 80-voice chorus will be Shelley Gruskin, professor emeritus of music at St. Scholastica.

"The Highwayman" was chosen by the Minnesota Federation of Music Clubs as the best work submitted by a Minnesota composer in 1940. The Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra and Chorus premiered it in May 1941 in a performance remarkable enough to be featured in Time magazine a few weeks later. The 25-minute work was performed only one more time, in the 1970s - before now.

Sister Martina, a Benedictine nun from St. Scholastica Monastery, went on to serve as president of The College of St. Scholastica from 1954-58. She was recognized not only for her musical compositions, but also for her inspirational teaching and her visionary leadership. She died in 1992.

 

"The Highwayman" is part of the College's Cambiata Concert Series and is a featured concert for the College's 100-year centennial celebration. An alumni reception will precede the event, in the parlor rooms in the front entrance of Tower Hall. The concert program will also include a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 as well as selections from Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance."

Tickets can be purchased online through the Spotlight Box Office at spotlight.css.edu or call (218) 723-7000.  Spotlight@css.edu is St. Scholastica's one-stop shop for arts and lectures, information and tickets. 

 

The rest of the 2012-2013 Cambiata Concert Series:

Unless otherwise noted, tickets for all concerts are $15 for adults and $5 for

students age 18 and younger (or with current college ID). Concerts are free for

CSS students and sisters of the St. Scholastica monastery. All performances

start at 7:30 p.m. in the Mitchell Auditorium on campus.

 

Tuesday, Dec. 18

Handel's "Messiah" Sing-along

FREE ADMISSION

Bring your friends, family and your voice to the 32nd annual sing-along of

Handel's Messiah. You provide the singing and the St. Scholastica Center for

Early Music Orchestra will provide the accompaniment. Bring your score or buy

one at the door for $15.

 

Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013

"Familiar and peculiar ... featuring Jeremy Craycraft and friends"

This is a chamber music collective with percussionist Jeremy Craycraft as the

common ingredient. The instruments featured are familiar, but presented in rare

combinations.

 

Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013

Horizons: Song of War, Peace and Freedom

The Twin Ports Choral Project will perform works that highlight the perils of war,

the promise of peace and the power of freedom.

 

Sunday, March 2, 2012

"Winterreise"

Bill Bastian, tenor, and LeAnn House, piano, will perform this classic song cycle

made for voice and piano.

 

The College of St. Scholastica is regularly recognized as one of the finest

colleges in the Midwest. The 2013 "America's Best Colleges" survey by

U.S. News & World Report magazine ranks St. Scholastica in the top tier of

Midwestern universities. The Washington Post has rated St. Scholastica as one

of the nation's 100 "hidden gems" among U.S. colleges and universities.