Stephen F. Austin State University

"An American Requiem," a monumental choral and orchestra work by Grammy-nominated American composer Richard Danielpour and featuring Metropolitan Opera star Jill Grove, will be telecast at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11, on SFA-TV. SFA-TV can be seen on Suddenlink’s Nacogdoches cable system on channel 2.

The performance, which involved 140 Stephen F. Austin State University vocal students and 90 instrumentalists, was videotaped May 4 on the SFA campus by students from the Department of Communication. It was edited by J&L Productions of Austin under the supervision of Dr. Al Greule, SFA associate professor of communication.

Jill Grove, an SFA graduate and a leading mezzo-soprano at the Metropolitan Opera, returned to Nacogdoches to sing one of the solo parts in the southwest premiere of the 60-minute work. Premiered in 2001 by the Pacific Symphony, the requiem is a tribute to the American soldier and dedicated to the victims of the terrorists attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001. It combines text from a traditional requiem Mass with excerpts from American poetry.

This was only the fourth performance of this composition, and the first in the Southwest. Arrangements for the broadcast rights for the performance were made by Dr. Tim King, SFA director of choral studies.

"Only audiences in Los Angeles, New York and Cleveland have had the opportunity to hear this magnificent piece, which I predict will be regarded as one of the greatest masterworks of this century,” said Dr. Tim King, SFA director of choral studies.

Renowned for her distinctive dramatic mezzo soprano and passionate artistry, Grove has won critical raves throughout the United States and Europe for her distinguished portrayals of the heroines of German and Italian opera.

Grove's roles at the Metropolitan Opera have included Erda in "The Ring Cycle," Magdalene in "The Master Singers of Nuremburg" and Emilia in "Otello," all under James Levine; Madelon in "Andrea Chenier," opposite Placido Domingo; Pantalis in Mefistofele"; and Mary in "Der Fliegende Holländer," conducted by Valery Gergiev.

Bruce Fowler, SFA assistant professor of music who earned international attention as a winner of the Plácido Domingo Operalia Competition, sang the tenor solo.

Currently an assistant professor of voice at SFA, Fowler studied at the University of Houston, the New England Conservatory and the Juilliard School in preparation for his career as a singer and educator. He has performed with the Paris Opera, La Scala, the Salzburg Festival and Lyric Opera of Chicago and in New York, Berlin, Barcelona, Rome, Montreal, Vienna and Brussels.

Scott LaGraff, SFA assistant professor of music and veteran of the operatic, concert and recital stage, performed as the featured baritone.

While a member of the Tri-Cities Opera Resident Artist Training Program in Binghamton, New York, he sang the title roles in "Don Giovani" and "Le Nozze di Figaro," The Villains in "Les Contes d'Hoffmann" and Capulet in "Romeo and Juliette," among others. He has also appeared with the Syracuse, Tulsa, Pensacola, East Texas and Westchester Hudson opera companies.

"What a fabulous line-up of performers!" King said. "Such a masterpiece deserves only our finest effort and musicians."

Supporting the soloists were 140 SFA vocal students who comprise the A Cappella Choir and Choral Union. Approximately 90 musicians from the Orchestra of the Pines, SFA Chamber Orchestra and SFA Wind Ensemble provided the orchestral backdrop.

"It's an enormous work that deals with dichotomous extremes such as violence and peace, cruelty and love, and the reality of earthly life and the promise of heavenly rest," King said.

The concert was a joint presentation the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music.