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Benjamin Laur is a composer and baritone currently working
towards a Bachelor of Music at Central Michigan University
where he studies composition with Dr. David Gillingham and
vocal performance with Dr. Eric Tucker.
His music has
been called "soaring" and "neo-romantic" for its traditional
but intuitive treatment of harmony and for its strong
melodies. Laur's
composition portfolio includes pieces for solo voice with
piano, solo voice with chamber ensemble, instrumental chamber ensemble, and choral pieces.
Studying voice
as a lyric baritone Laur has enjoyed a number of baritone
lead roles including Don Giovanni in Mozart's opera of the
same name, Fred/Petrucchio in Cole Porter's
Kiss Me, Kate and Papageno in Mozart's Die
Zauberflote.
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The Letter of
Jesse Givens
On May 1,
2003, US Army Private First Class Jesse Givens died while on
duty in Iraq when his tank fell into the Euphrates with the
collapsing river bank. His last letter home to his
wife, stepson, and unborn son serves at the text to this
piece for baritone for orchestra (Steven Kandow, cond;
Benjamin Laur, bari.).
It is my
sincere hope that this piece will serve in honor of Givens'
memory to those who loved him, and in honor of the
ultimate sacrifice he and his compatriots have made.
Click
here to visit the Fallen
Heroes Memorial website and read Givens' letter. |
