Press Releases

Choral Concert Scheduled for March 6 at Oklahoma City National Memorial

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2009

Media Contacts
Nancy Coggins, APR
405.235.3313 or 405.760.9053
nc@oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org

Tim Sharp
Executive Director, American Choral Directors Association
405.232.8161
SHARP@acda.org

Choral Concert Scheduled for March 6 at Oklahoma City National Memorial
Peace Event to feature mix of choirs, local and national

OKLAHOMA CITY – Members of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), who will be in Oklahoma City for the association’s 50^th annual National Conference, will gather at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum for a Peace Event at 9 a.m., March 6, 2009. The public is invited to join conference attendees for this free choral concert on the Outdoor Symbolic Memorial.

The event will be led by Grammy nominated choral ensemble Conspirare, and will also feature Oklahoma City’s Canterbury Youth Chorus and the University of Oklahoma Brass Choir. Readings of the words of American and Native American poets Mary Oliver, Wendell Berry and Joy Harjo will also be included. Featured music includes a piece from Maurice Duruflé's Requiem and the moving song Requiem by singer-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson, dedicated to victims of disaster. In addition to brief choral presentations by the featured musicians and ensembles, the expected 3000-plus attendees will participate in an extraordinarily special collage of community singing, spoken word and shared silence.

“We are excited ACDA has chosen the Memorial as a site for this concert of hope and remembrance,” said Kari Watkins, Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum executive director. “That the site motivated the planners of this concert to create a beautiful and hopeful event for the conference really does speak to the inspiration this place holds for the thousands of people who visit from around the world.”

The ACDA Peace Event is intended as a great coming together of the diverse membership of ACDA and of guests from around the region.

“It is hoped that the musical ceremony can create an opportunity both for remembering and for deep and meaningful reflection on hope and healing within our human community,” said ACDA Executive Director Tim Sharp.

ACDA is holding its 50^th Anniversary National Convention in Oklahoma City, March 4-7, 2009. Founded in 1959, ACDA is a nonprofit music-education organization whose central purpose is to promote excellence in choral music through performance, composition, publication, research, and teaching. In addition, ACDA strives through arts advocacy to elevate choral music's position in American society.

The Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum was created to honor those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever by the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The Memorial and Museum are dedicated to educating visitors about the impact of violence, informing about events surrounding the bombing, and inspiring hope and healing through lessons learned by those affected.

The Outdoor Symbolic Memorial is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is free of charge. The Memorial Museum is open Monday – Saturday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., and Sunday, 1-6p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (62+) and $6 for students (6 yrs - college with valid ID). Children 5 and under are admitted free. Group rates and programs are available. Special exhibits are included in the cost of admission. Ticket sales end at 5 p.m. daily. The Museum is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve Day, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

For more information on the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, call (888) 542-HOPE or visit www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org.

For more information about the March 4-7 ACDA National Conference, the Peace Event, or for other choral event information, call (405) 232-8161 or visit www.acda.org.

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