Oread Singers to perform at Lawrence church

The Oread Singers, a new 22-member vocal ensemble at Kansas University, will perform a special concert 7:30 p.m. today at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1011 Vt.

Admission is free; freewill offerings in support the church’s music program are welcome.

The concert will highlight various British composers and arrangers, such as Thomas Morley, Orlando Gibbons, Charles V. Stanford, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Herbert Howells and John Bertalot. A small reception will follow the performance.

Henry Heller Smith, a doctoral student in choral conducting, directs the Oread Singers. The group was added to KU’s choral community this fall and includes mostly undergraduate students.

Final poetry project focuses on Hughes

The Ninth Street Baptist Church and St. Luke AME Church will sponsor their fourth and final National Poetry Project event at 6 p.m. today at St. Luke AME, 900 N.Y.

The program title is “Exploring ‘The Big Sea’ with Langston Hughes.” “The Big Sea” is the title of Hughes’ first autobiography published in 1940.

Maryemma Graham, co-director of the Langston Hughes National Poetry Project at KU, will moderate a panel of scholars that includes Sandra Wiechert, former communications director at the Lawrence Public Library; Dorthy Pennington, KU associate professor of African and African-American studies; and Napoleon Crews, Lawrence author.

KU Symphony explores new musical territory

On the heels of a well-received 100th anniversary gala concert in October, the Kansas University Symphony Orchestra will present a program of more chamber-like music during its second fall concert at 2 p.m. today.

Tickets to the Lied Center performance are $7 for the public, $5 for students and seniors.

The program includes Overture to “Euryanthe” by Carl Maria von Weber, “The Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra” by Mozart and Symphony No. 7 by Sergei Prokofiev.

For tickets, call 864-2787.

Lawrence native authors collection of letters to mom

Former Lawrence resident Michelle Stacy will be in Lawrence Tuesday to sign copies of her new book, “Letters to Mom.”

Stacy’s mom died from injuries sustained in a car accident on Kansas Highway 32 between Lawrence and Kansas City in 1956. Stacy, who now lives in Dallas, went on to start her own business, Display Products, Inc., which made her a millionaire by age 42. She has continued to feel a deep connection to her birth mother.

The letters in the 480-page book, which sells for $18.50, chronicle Stacy’s adventures and friendships and tell of instances when she knows her mother is still with her.

The 1971 Lawrence High School graduate will sign copies of the book at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Borders, 700 N.H.