CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - As it has in past years, the University of Illinois School of Music will mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States with a short commemorative program on Tuesday (Sept. 11).
The free observance is open to the public and will take place in the recital hall of Smith Hall, 805 S. Mathews St., Urbana, beginning at 7:46 a.m.
U. of I. music school director Karl Kramer said the program's start time coincides with the time the first hijacked jetliner crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The program will conclude at 8:03 a.m., marking the time that the second airplane hit the center's south tower.
In keeping with tradition, there will be "no speeches or talking, just music and contemplation," Kramer said.
The program will feature the U. of I. Trombone Choir, under the direction of U. of I. trombone professor Elliot Chasanov. The ensemble will perform "Dido's Lament" from "Dido and Anaes," by Henry Purcel; "Christus Factus Est," by Anton Bruckner; and "In Memoriam," by Raymond Premru. Joining the choir on Gabriel Faure's "Cantique de Jean Racine" will be U. of I. organ professor Dana Robinson.
"The trombone ensemble has an incredibly sonorous and beautifully powerful sound, which should make for an extremely moving performance," Kramer said.