Stephen F. Austin State University

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The Stephen F. Austin State University A Cappella Choir will present a "Europe Preview" concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 9, in Cole Concert Hall.

The traditional program, featuring music that spans five centuries, is one of three concerts the choir is preparing for its European tour in May.

The 50-member choir will present this program at the Church of St. Martin in the Fields in London and again in Hallstadt, Germany. It includes music from the early Baroque period to the twentieth century.

The tour is a result of an invitation the choir and director Tim King received from the Salzburg Choral Society to participate in the Salzburg and Vienna, Austria, celebrations commemorating the 250th anniversary of W.A. Mozart's birth.

"We were very well received during our participation in Vienna's 1,000-year celebration in 2003, delivering encore after encore," said King. "We're excited to be returning."

The choir has been working all year preparing music and raising funds for the tour.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for our students," said Dr. Richard Berry, dean of the College of Fine Arts. "It provides them a chance to engage in international experiences that directly relate to their field of study."

The second and third programs the choir is preparing are two of Mozart's masses, which are musical settings of the traditional Latin mass. These can be performed in concert or as part of an actual mass. Thirty-three SFA orchestral students will provide orchestral accompaniment on the tour "so that the works can be performed as they were meant to be," King said.

The choir will present the 'Spatzenmesse (Sparrow Mass)" at the Klosternueberg Abbey and incorporate it into an Ascension Day mass celebrated by the archbishop at the Salzburg Cathedral. In Nacogdoches, the choir will sing the work during the 5 p.m. mass on Saturday, April 22, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

The choir will present Mozart's "Mass in C minor" at churches in Berndorf and Goldegg, Austria. East Texans can hear the work at the choir's year-end concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 9, in W.M. Turner Auditorium.

The local concerts are joint presentations of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music.

Tickets for the March 9 concert are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $2 for students. For tickets or more information, please visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.

To learn more about the tour or to make a tax-deductible donation to help fund the tour, visit www.music.sfasu.edu/eruopeantour.