By Lizia Oliveira, student news writer
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – British duo Robert Munns and Sally Johnson will present a program of music for organ and soprano voice on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 8 p.m. in the Randsell Chapel. The public is invited to attend the concert by the duo who has performed extensively throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and North America.
Robert Munns, former Scholarship holder at the Royal Academy of Music, has had an extensive career as a concert organist, conductor and church musician.
His many overseas tours have included performances, master classes and broadcasts on five continents that have attracted great acclaim.
In England, he has performed at the Henry Wood Promenande Concerts, the St. Alban’s Festival and at most concert venues including St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral and the Royal Festival Hall in London. He was also for some years organist to the Royal Philharmonic and has appeared as guest soloist with the London Philharmonic and BBC Scottish Orchestras.
The Salt Lake Tabernacle, St Thomas’s Church Fifth Avenue in New York, Washington National Cathedral, the Keiser Wilhelm Church in Berlin, St. Peter’s Cathedral Geneva and the Laurenskirk in Rotterdam are some of the places where he’s performed.
Appearances in the Far East include Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Adelaide and the Melbourne International Festival. In 1992, he was the first British organist in 45 years to give concerts in Romania.
Because of his services to British music, Munns was even honored by The Royal Academy.
Since 1996, he has made yearly concerts tours to the United States. As a teacher, he has universal recognition, and, since 1994, has given workshops and classes in Malaysia, Singapore and Canada.
This year’s American tour, which goes from September to November, includes four concerts in the Messiaen Centenary year, which is also the 50th anniversary of the death of Vaughan Williams, an English composer, and venues in Cincinnati, Louisville, Omaha, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
His university performances include Campbellsville University, Murray State University and the University of Tennessee.
Johnson studied music at the Royal College of Music and is a well-recognized musician in the field of lieder and oratorio.
She has a large and varied repertoire and has undertaken considerable research into early and contemporary vocal music. Johnson has also made appearances as soloist with many established choirs and baroque ensembles.
In 1978, she made her BBC debute.
Johnson and Munns, who is her husband, are an established duo, with organ, harpsichord and pianoforte and have performed in many countries together. Frequently she has directed master classes in England and abroad.
Johnson’s repertoire now includes a great deal of music specifically written for her by several eminent British, Canadian and Norwegian composers. She is also a distinguished teacher and vocal coach with many students in top ensembles and in the London Theater.
For more information about the concert, contact the School of Music at (270) 789-5237 or music@campbellsville.edu.
Campbellsville University is a private, comprehensive institution located in South Central Kentucky. Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and has an enrollment of 2,601 students who represent 93 Kentucky counties, 27 states and 31 foreign nations. Listed in U.S.News & World Report’s 2009 “America’s Best Colleges,” CU is ranked 22nd in “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” in the South for the second consecutive year. CU has been ranked 16 consecutive years with U.S.News & World Report. The university has also been named to America’s Best Christian Colleges®. Campbellsville University is located 82 miles southwest of Lexington, Ky., and 80 miles southeast of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Michael V. Carter is in his tenth year as president.