It’s not hard to sing the praises of Charlene Archibeque, the longtime professor emeritus and director of choral activities for San Jose State University.
But you can imagine the SJSU Choirs and Orchestra — along with a special alumni choir — will do a top-notch job when they honor her during a concert Saturday, May 10, at the California Theatre in downtown San Jose.
To top it off, they’ll be joined by San Jose State President Cynthia Teniente-Matson to announce the Charlene Archibeque Endowed Professor of Choral Music, the first endowed professorship in the School of Music’s history.
Archibeque retired in 2005 after teaching choral students at the university for 35 years. She will turn 90 this summer.
That’s not the only thing that’ll make Saturday’s concert special, though: The choirs and orchestra also will be premiering “Nizkor: A Journey of Remembrance,” which was composed by SJSU School of Music Director Fred Cohen. He said the work adapts the traditional Catholic requiem to Jewish liturgical contexts by drawing on Jewish texts and mourning practices. He composed it in response to personal family losses and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The work is meant to transform individual mourning into a sanctified act of communal remembrance,” said Cohen, whose piece will be performed by the SJSU Choraliers, the Concert Choir and orchestra, along with soloists Hannah Cho, Courtney Miller, Christopher Bengochea and Philip Skinner.
The 2 p.m. concert also includes Beethoven’s “Choral Fantasy.”
Tickets. $21-$27, are available at hammertheatre.com/sjsu-music-tickets. The California Theatre is located at 345 S. First St., San Jose.