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A Bluegrass Mass
Published: 9/24/2011 12:20 PM
Last Modified: 9/24/2011 12:20 PM

Tulsa Oratorio Chorus artistic director Tim Sharp will premiere a new work he has composed Sunday.

The work is called "Come Away to the Skies: A High Lonesome Mass," and it takes old time hymns, sets them to bluegrass arrangements and arranges them in a structure that follows the form of the Latin Mass.

It's a project that Sharp has been working on for more than a year, one that blends two of his musical loves -- sacred choral music and bluegrass. Sharp will be playing the banjo at the Sunday performance, which will take place at a church in the Portland, Ore., area.

The mixture of styles might sound bizarre. But Sharp shared with me a recording of the Sanctus movement that had been recorded earlier this year, and it is a surprisingly effective piece, treating bluegrass, Sacred Harp-style gospel songs and classical choral performance with equal seriousness.

Sharp told me, "I don't know when or how or where I will do it in Tulsa, but I will figure it out."

Here is a link to a story from a local paper about the performance.

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James D. Watts Jr. has lived in Oklahoma for most his life, even though he still has people saying to him, "Don't sound like you're from around these parts." A University of Oklahoma Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Watts has received the Governor Arts Award, Harwelden Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Beth Macklin Award for his writing. Before coming to the Tulsa World, Watts worked for the Tulsa Tribune.

Contact him at (918) 581-8478.

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Past Articles By James D. Watts Jr

2/15/2013		'Concept/OK' exhibit ends Saturday
2/14/2013		Symphony to host piano soloist
2/14/2013		Broadway tours bring 'Shrek,' improv musical to Tulsa area this weekend
2/14/2013		Arts roundup: Improv reigns at several upcoming theater events
2/14/2013		'Lion King' returns to Tulsa PAC June 4
2/12/2013		Review: Signature Symphony reprises '100 Years of Oklahoma Music'
2/11/2013		Tulsa Symphony's concert salutes diverse American music
2/10/2013		Cherokee artist weaves messages into baskets
2/10/2013		Tesla Quartet set for Tulsa residency next week with variety of activities
2/10/2013		Jim Murphy wins 2013 Anne Zarrow Award
2/10/2013		LBJ chronicler Robert Caro to speak at TU on Tuesday
2/9/2013		Theater review: Playhouse makes "Barefoot in the Park" believable

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