Vocal ensembles unite for holiday

For IU Professor of Music Edmund Cord, tonight's Martin Luther King Holiday Celebration concert will put King's message of global togetherness into song.\n"It's an opportunity for us as artists to make a positive statement about our shared values and humanity," said Cord, who is also director of the IU Brass Choir. "Music has been said to have the power to express the inexpressible. To be a part of this concert is a great opportunity."\nThe Brass Choir will be joined by the IU Youth Chorale and the African American Choral Ensemble. The fourth annual concert, which is sponsored by the IU School of Music in conjunction with the African American Arts Institute, also features solo vocal performances and instrumental duets by IU students. Performers will include vocalists graduate students Ailyn Perez and Virginia LeBlanc, pianists senior Carl Gales and Haruko Murphy, and saxophonist graduate student Otis Murphy.\nSchool of Music Associate Dean Eugene O'Brien, who is coordinating the event, said this year's concert will not have a specific theme.\n"(Concert-goers) will certainly hear a wide variety of musical styles," he said. But, he added, "It's all centered around the African-American experience."\nJames Mumford, director of the African American Choral Ensemble, said it's appropriate that the university recognize King's life with music. He noted that African-American spirituals often were a crucial part of King's speeches and civil-rights protests frequently centered around singing.\n"Music was the thing that brought the demonstrators together and gave them the strength to fight and overcome fear," he said.\nMumford said he hopes because of the strong connection between King and music, the choral ensemble pieces will demonstrate a similar link.\n"We just hope that we can show that these songs reflect more than just music," he said. "They also reflect an ideal."\nCord said the Brass Choir will perform Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man," a piece he said inspires people from all walks of life.\n"It affirms our humanity and what we have in common," Cord said.\nMumford said the concert has been well-attended from its inception. \n"The last two performances have been standing room only," Mumford said. "They had to turn people back because there wasn't enough room."\nBecause of that, he said, the ensemble is grateful to be involved.\n"We consider it an honor to be a part of remembering the legacy of Dr. King," Mumford said.