LYON COLLEGE CHOIR TO PERFORM

The Lyon College concert choir will perform in Cape Girardeau at the First Presbyterian church during its annual spring tour, a college spokesman said.

The concert will be March 26 at 7 p.m. at the church at Broadway and Lorimier. The choir will feature traditional, classical and modern music.

Choir conductor and assistant music professor at Lyon College, Dr. Robert Shay, said, "We'll be doing several traditional anthems, a set of modern pieces called the Nativity Madrigals by Daniel Pinkham, and a set of spirituals. Then we'll have some excerpts from 'Dido and Aeneas,' a tragic opera by Henry Purcell."

About half the choir's 33 members are new to Lyon College this year, but Shay said they are up to a challenging schedule of performances.

"It's taken a while to solidify, but we have added some strong young talent," he said. "We're starting to draw some of the better singers to the college, and we have some strong solo talents in the choir."

Lyon College is at Batesville, Ark.

Shay said, "I think this group has the potential to be the best choir since I've been here. And, we've laid out a very ambitious slate of performances."

The Cape Girardeau performance is one of eight during the weeklong tour that includes appearances in Missouri, Illinois and northeast Arkansas.