EU presents Elijah Oratorio

April 2, 2008
Contact: Paul K. Logsdon, Director of Public Relations and Publications, 417-865-2815, Ext. 7292

Springfield, Mo. — Evangel University will present the Elijah Oratorio on Sunday, April 20, at 2 p.m. in the chapel auditorium.

There is no charge for admission, and the public is invited to attend.

“This is a very large collaborative effort that will involve over 150 EU students,” said Dr. Kolstad. “The work itself is a master composition over three hours long.”

The program will feature artist Michael Burnette as Elijah, conductor Larry Dissmore, choral directors Richard Honea and Sharon Wilkins, and vocalists Susan Smith, Jane Berg and Paula Patterson.

Musical groups involved in the performance include University Chorus, Chorale and Orchestra.

The oratorio was written by German composer Felix Mendelssohn. Charles Rosen, author of The Romantic Generation, offers the following synopsis:

This powerful work depicts the Biblical story of Elijah through instrumental music and song. Some of the episodes presented include the resurrection of a dead youth, the bringing of rain to parched Israel through Elijah’s prayers, and the bodily assumption of Elijah on a fiery chariot into heaven. And the “contest of the gods,” in which God consumes an offered sacrifice in a column of fire, after a failed sequence of frantic prayers by the Hebrew people to their favored god Baal. The final section of the oratorio draws parallels between the lives of Elijah and Jesus.

For additional information, contact Lynn Hall (417) 865-2815 ext. 7212.