The Hidden Harmony Project

Chamber Singers (mixed voice chamber choir) and Anacrusis (women’s chamber choir), in collaboration with the Logan and Wright Museums, rehearsed and explored a program of choral music in which each musical selection is paired with one of nine objects from the museums’ collections. Music and museum objects that engender the broadest academic intersections were chosen, allowing the students to utilize a variety of lenses in their investigation.

Sixty-minute lecture/discussions provided by select members of the Beloit College faculty guided the students as they explored not only the form and artistry of the music and museum pieces as individual entities, but also the manner in which each pair might reflect, expand or illustrate one another.

The choirs will present three performances in the Wright Museum with each piece of music sung in the presence of its paired museum object; an exhibit/program booklet with color photos of the museum objects, faculty essays, and program notes to elaborate on the musical selections will be provided to the audience members. A variety of gallery talks drawn from the semester’s lecture/discussions will be offered 60 minutes prior to the performances and a question-and-answer/reflection session with the student performers, lecturers, project collaborators, and audience members will take place at the conclusion of the concerts.

The project presents an innovative pedagogical model that draws on the concept of the lab by pairing choral music and museum holdings, investigating the relationships between these separate artistic endeavors through a variety of lenses. It contributes to curricular enhancement and innovation of music education and museum studies, employing techniques of visual literacy and exploring a “liberal arts in practice” approach to observing the world. Collaboration is promoted within the arts and humanities through the partnership of music faculty and museum staff, with the potential to reach beyond the humanities through the involvement of the broader Beloit College faculty.

To reserve tickets for The Hidden Harmony Project, click on the link below for availabilty of the performance date of your choice:

Friday, April 26 @ 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 28 @ 3:00 p.m.

If you have questions regarding ticketing, please email Susan Rice at <rices@beloit.edu>.
To learn more about the performance, please read the text below.

The Hidden Harmony Project was conceived and developed by Director of Choirs Susan Rice in collaboration with:

Dan Bartlett, Logan Museum
Nicolette Meister, Logan Museum
Joy Beckman, Wright Museum/Art History
James Pearson, Wright Museum

Fran Abbate, English/Creative Writing
Marion Fass, Health & Society
Bill Green, Logan Museum/Anthropology
Ted Gries, Chemistry
Natalie Gummer, Religious Studies
Catherine Orr, Women's & Gender Studies
Jo Ortel, Art History
Lisl Walsh, Classics
Robin Zebrowski, Cognitive Science