GVSU Music Department presents

“Music for the ‘Era of Good Feelings’: Beethoven in Federalist America”

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 8 P.M.
LOUIS ARMSTRONG THEATRE
PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
ALLENDALE CAMPUS

Prelude carillon concert from 7:20-7:50 p.m.

Concert followed by reception

Commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812 and the ideals that shaped the American nation. Through music of the period, specifically Beethovens iconic Wellingtons Victory and his beloved Oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives, we will celebrate the values of liberty and freedom that were so important to both Beethoven and the American people.

The War of 1812 was a defining event in the history and development of Michigan. Residents suffered great physical and economic hardship as the war progressed, but with peace came the development of the Michigan that we know today.

Also, with the subsequent end of the Napoleonic Wars, a safer and much calmer world ensued; a time that came to be known as the Era of Good Feelings. Nothing represented this new age more than the explosion of musical performances in the form of imported concert tours by Europeans. These composers and musicians quickly realized the new economic potential of America.

To Americans of 1812, no composer was more symbolic of these new times than Ludwig Van Beethoven, who reigned supreme in popularity through his oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives. The rousing final chorus of that work was perhaps the most loved of all European musical imports and directly contributed to the rise of the oratorio society as a uniquely American musical conversation; not the least of which was the founding of Bostons Handel and Haydn Society in 1815.

Music & Dance

Art Gallery

Poetry Night