The voice faculty in the Glenn Korff School of Music will present “Side by Side by Side: A Sondheim Tribute” at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23 in Kimball Recital Hall.
The concert is free and open to the public and will also be livestreamed. Visit the Glenn Korff School of Music website the day of the performance for the webcast link.
“The voice faculty decided after my fall recital last year, where we each sang duets, that we’d like to have a collaborative voice area recital each year with different themes,” said Suna Gunther, assistant professor of voice. “Then, we lost composer Stephen Sondheim, who made a profound impact on the musical theatre world. We wanted to take this opportunity to honor his work.”
In addition to Gunther, participating in the concert are Glenn Korff School of Music voice faculty Jamie Reimer, soprano; Amy Guevara, soprano; Brianna Smith, mezzo soprano; Kevin Hanrahan, tenor and William Shomos, baritone; as well as alumnus Thomas Gunther, baritone; and staff accompanist Michael Cotton, piano.
Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim died on Nov. 26, 2021, at the age of 91. One of the most important figures in 21st century musical theater, his credits included “West Side Story,” “A Little Night Music,” “Sunday in the Park with George,” “Into the Woods” and more.
With a career spanning 50 years, he won eight Tony Awards, eight Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, an Academy Award, Kennedy Center Honors Award and a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The program includes “Old Friends” and “Not a Day Goes By” from “Merrily We Roll Along;” “Ballad of Booth” from “Assassins;” “Every Day a Little Death” from “A Little Night Music;” “Could I Leave You” from “Follies;” “Johanna Quartet” and “Not While I’m Around” from “Sweeney Todd;” “Agony,” “The Last Midnight,” “No More” and “No One Is Alone” from “Into the Woods;” “Take Me to the World” from “Evening Primrose;” “Getting Married Today” from “Company;” and “Move On” from “Sunday in the Park with George.”
“Audiences should expect a wide variety of music that tugs at every heart string: humor, romance, discomfort, rage, grief, passion and everything in between,” Gunther said.
