The Emory University Symphony Orchestra will combine with the Emory University Chorus to perform "Carmina Burana" on Wednesday, April 16 and Thursday, April 17 at 8 p.m. in the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts.
Emory composer and conductor Richard Prior and Director of Choral Studies at Nelson will conduct the orchestra and chorus respectively in this 20th century cantata.
Prior noted that the approximately 100 instrumentalists and more than 150 singers and the collaborative environment between the two directors allows them to present "truly iconic works in the choral-orchestral repertoire such as 'Carmina Burana'."
"The experience of performing works that require such huge forces and hearing them live is truly demonstrative of Emory's resources and commitment to the arts and their integration into the academic and cultural community," Prior says.
"Carmina Burana" is based on a set of poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century set to music in the 1930s by German composer Carl Orff and its popularity has made it a staple of modern classical music concerts.
The performances are free and open to the public.