ArtsFest concludes Sunday with concert by DPU choirs

The final presentation of ArtsFest 2013 -- an eight--day campuswide immersion into the arts centered on this year's theme of "Art and the Quest" -- will be a choral concert exploring the stages of a hero's journey, as described by Joseph Campbell and interpreted through the eyes of DePauw University's Director of Choirs Gregory Ristow.

The concert, which will be conducted by Ristow, will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday in Kresge Auditorium of the Green Center for Performing Arts.

The multi-faceted program includes such monolithic musical selections as John Williams' "Duel of the Fates" from "Star Wars: Phantom Menace" and "Double Trouble" from "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," as well as music by Handel, Mendelssohn and faculty composer Scott Perkins.

"It's a whole multi-media concert," Ristow said. "We're using projections of art works, clips from films, readings from literature and music -- that's the biggie, of course -- to illustrate the hero's journey as outlined by sociologist Joseph Campbell."

And a lot of people are involved. In addition to the university's combined choirs, the student-run Bootleg String Ensemble will take the stage. Soprano Pamela Coburn, visiting professor of music, is featured as the soloist in Mendelssohn's "Hear My Prayer" and university organist Carla Edwards will play as well.

In some ways the program follows the storyline of the conductor's life quest. As he was beginning work on his master's degree, his best friend gave him a copy of the "Power of Myth," the companion book to Bill Moyer's 1988 PBS television series, which really fascinated him.

"It helped me see connections between so much literature, mythology and film that I'd read and seen in the past, but that I hadn't previously seen as being connected," Ristow said.

"I've been studying Campbell's work for a long time. What's really fun," the conductor observes, "is sharing my understanding of his theories. It's not just about heroes; it's about the journey we must all take in order to grow from the vapid innocence of youth into our fullest selves."

General admission tickets for "The Hero's Journey" are $3. Tickets for all students and seniors are free. For more information, contact Ristow (gregoryristow@depauw.edu).

For assistance with obtaining tickets, visit depauw.edu/music/tickets, stop by the box office, located on the ground floor of the Green Center at 605 S. College Ave., or call 658-4827.