Findlay, Ohio, March 24, 2004 — The University of Findlay Concert-Chorale and the Findlay-Area Community Chorus will present a complete performance of The Creation by Franz Joseph Haydn on Sunday, April 18, at 3 p.m. in the TLB Foundation Convocation Center, Winebrenner Theological Seminary, on the campus of The University of Findlay.

The performance will feature a chorus of more than 100 singers, a 34-piece orchestra and three professional soloists.

The Creation was composed between 1796 and 1798 and was given its first performance in German at a private concert for nobility in Vienna on April 29, 1798. The Creation is the first large-scale work in music history to be published with a bilingual text – German and English. The original text was written in English by Haydn, and the task of developing a German/English libretto for The Creation was given to Baron Gottfried van Swieten.

Two primary original sources for the work were the Biblical account of creation as told in Genesis 1:1-2:3 and the paraphrase and interpretation of the same story in John Milton’s Paradise Lost.

The text for The Creation falls into three parts. The first deals with the first four days of creation, and the second covers days five and six of creation. The final part deals with Adam and Eve’s awakening and mutual love, which depart from the Biblical account.

The work is scored for a large chorus, orchestra and three soloists, who take the parts of the angels Gabriel (soprano), Uriel (tenor) and Raphael (bass) in the early sections of the work. In the final part, the bass and soprano soloists assume the roles of Adam and Eve.

Soloists for the show include Angela Gwinn, JR Fralick and Ronald Hazlett. Micheal F. Anders, Ph.D., professor of music and director of the music program at The University of Findlay, is conductor for the performance.

Gwinn, a soprano, lives in the Akron-Canton, Ohio, area and holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Northwestern University and a master of music degree in vocal performance from the Julliard School, where she studied on a full scholarship as a member of the American Opera Center. Her performance credentials span all manner of opera and stage.

Fralick, a tenor, is a native of Kansas City, Mo., and is on the voice faculty of the Music Conservatory at Baldwin-Wallace College. He has music degrees from Friends University, Kansas State University and The Ohio State University and has the Vocology Certificate through the National Center for Voice at the University of Iowa. He also has expansive performance credits.

Hazlett, a bass, lives in Akron and teaches private voice at the West Side Vocal Academy and the Akron Public Schools Magnet Arts Program. He holds music degrees from Kent State University and Marshall University. He has appeared with countless opera companies.

The concert is free and open to the public.