DH
Danyelle Hillman
  • music education
  • Saginaw, MI

Danyelle Hillman, of Saginaw, to perform in SVSU concert

2014 Feb 21

Saginaw Valley State University's Cardinal Singers and Concert Choir will be singing new life into the works of two poetic and literary icons, Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost in American Poets: Choral Songs of Emily Dickenson and Robert Frost on Monday, Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in SVSU's Rhea Miller Recital Hall.

Kevin Simons, associate professor of music at SVSU, will conduct 37 SVSU students as they turn literary standards into works of musical art. The program will feature "Frostiana" by Randall Thompson and "A Heart in Hiding" by Gwyneth Walker.


Danyelle Hillman, a music major from Saginaw, is among the student performers.

"Frostiana" is a set of seven "country songs" that use some of the most well-known poems of Frost. Included among the set are "The road not taken," "Choose something like a star," and "Stopping by woods." The music is wonderfully pastoral and paints the picture of a simple, country life. It is one of Thompson's most popular and oft-performed works.

Walker is a living composer, and writes in a modern and fresh idiom that brings new life to Dickinson's poems. The entire work is a dialogue between the chorus and soloist Rachel Andrews, mezzo soprano and SVSU artist-in-voice.

"Rachel introduced this piece to me, and as soon as I heard it, I knew the Cardinal Singers had to perform it with her," Simons said. "If you haven't heard Rachel sing, you are in for a treat with this piece."

Cheryl Cheger-Timm will provide musical accompaniment to the vocalists.

The concert is open to the public; admission is free of charge.

For more information on this event and other upcoming events put on by the Department of Music at SVSU, please visit www.svsu.edu/music or call 989-964-4159.