Christopher M. Cock

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - One of Franz Schubert’s most popular compositions will be performed at California Lutheran University at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22.

Tenor Christopher M. Cock, director of choral and vocal activities at Valparaiso University in Indiana, will sing “Winterreise, Opus 89” in Samuelson Chapel. Pianist Nicole Lee will accompany him.

In his brief lifetime, Schubert wrote two of the most significant song cycles, or songs designed to be performed as a sequence, in the history of Western composition: “Die schöne Müllerin” and “Winterreise.” In the year before he died, he gathered a group of his friends to introduce them to the epic cycle “Winterreise.” In response to their cautious reaction to the melancholy mood of this group of songs, Schubert reportedly said, “I like these songs best of all, and you will come to like them, too.” Two hundred years of performance tradition have affirmed Schubert’s view that “Winterreise” would become one of the most performed vocal works of all time.

Cock holds the Phyllis and Richard Duesenberg Chair in Lutheran Music and is the founder and director of the Bach Institute at Valparaiso. He has forged a unique career path, combining the roles of conductor and performer. As a solo artist, his extensive range and communicative performances have established him as a premier lyric tenor. He has received wide acclaim performing the tenor parts of oratorios and Passions in the role of Bach Evangelist in more than 50 shows around the world, including a 2001 appearance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has appeared at Carnegie Hall both as a soloist and a conductor and many times as a guest artist with the Oregon Bach Festival. He has recently sung with the Florida Orchestra, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Miami Bach Society, the American Sinfonietta, the Grand Rapids Symphony and the Seattle Chamber Singers.

Donations will be accepted. For more information, call the Music Department at 805-493-3306 or visit http://www.callutheran.edu.