The performers at the April 7-14 festival will be just as varied, with presentations by university choral groups, orchestras and ensembles, pianists, percussionists, a jazz big band and others at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

The School of Performing Arts offerings are some of the many events to be presented at the third annual festival, which is free and open to the public. More than 1,000 university students, 100 faculty members and some collaborative programs with outside partners will showcase the performing arts along with visual arts, studio art, gaming, animation, photography and film.

Phoenix Song, the composition remembering the 49 victims of last summer’s Pulse tragedy in Orlando, was composed by David Brunner, interim associate director of the School of Performing Arts and a professor of music. The lyrics were by Scott Lounsbury, a friend and collaborator of his.

Brunner was asked to write the song for the Orange County High Schools’ all-county chorus, which premiered the piece in January.

The upcoming performance will be with 124 voices from Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ combined choirs at 7:30 p.m. April 9, and then with several hundred singers at 7 p.m. April 11 with invited middle and high school choirs and the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Alumni Choir. The middle and high school choirs are all part of a day of workshops presented by music alumni. The performing members of the Alumni Choir are returning from all across the country, some in the choral program as far back as 25 years ago.

“The intention of this song was not only to honor those directly involved in the Pulse nightclub tragedy, but all of us who were affected by it indirectly,� Brunner said. “I attended the observance at Lake Eola a few days after the event and was struck by the very strong feeling that we all realized that we belonged to each other. This sense of belonging, of hopefulness, is quite evident in the piece. I particularly was drawn to the lines ‘sing we our tomorrow’ and ‘we’re healing as we sing.’�

The Flying Horse Big Band also returns to the third annual festival this year to present a program called The Bat Swings!, new arrangements of the music from the 1960s Batman movie and TV show.

Jeff Rupert, director of jazz studies and a Pegasus Professor, said he wanted the student band to play the superhero’s songs after “watching the 1960s movies with my kids and enjoying the background music…It turns out there are a lot of funny and relevant lines from the show that we will draw from for the performance.�

The original theme was composed by Neal Hefti, while the incidental music composed and arranged by Nelson Riddle.

The Flying Horse Big Band will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 14.

Other performances at the festival include:

Piano Extravaganza! – April 8, selections by John Philip Sousa, Franz Liszt and others.

Choral Concert: That Music Always Round Me – April 9, a program that spans culture, times and places as chamber singers, the women’s chorus, university chorus and combined choirs perform songs of histories, heritage, joys and sorrows.

Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band Concert – April 10, music of Bernstein, Gershwin, Sousa, John Williams and others.

Woodwind Ensembles Concert – April 11, featuring performances by flute, clarinet and saxophone ensembles.

Percussion Festival – April 12, a day of workshops and performances culminates in a celebration featuring guest artist Makoto Nakura and the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Percussion Ensemble.

An Evening of Cello Celebration – April 13, new Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ cello professor, Si-Yan Darren Li, presents a program of solo and ensemble music spanning three centuries.

Collide Contemporary Music Series: Steve Reich’s Drumming – April 14, a collaboration between Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Percussion, Voci Dance and Theatre Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½.

This is part of a series of stories about the April 7-14 events at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Celebrates the Arts 2017. All events are free, but tickets are required for performances and entrance into the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave., Orlando. Ticketing and full schedule details are at .

Jeffrey M. Moore, who has been the director of the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ School of Performing Arts since its inception in 2013, has been named as the new dean of the College of Arts & Humanities.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to join Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s outstanding senior academic leadership team,â€� Moore said. “Throughout my career, I have always enjoyed collaborating with faculty, students and our community partners. This new position will allow me to expand on those activities and enhance our presence even more.â€�

Steven Chicurel-Stein, professor of theatre and associate director of the School of Performing Arts, has been named interim director of the school while the university conducts a national search for Moore’s permanent replacement.

Chicurel-Stein’s new position grants him oversight over the school’s music and theatre curriculum, facilities and faculty. “I’ve been teaching at universities for 25 years now, and I’ve always been a professor in theatre, but my degrees are in music. For me, it’s an easy fit—I understand the cultures of both music and theatre. There’s still a learning curve, but I’m comfortable working within both worlds.�

Professor of Music David L. Brunner will assume Chicurel-Stein’s associate director duties for the interim period, complimented by Dr. Keith Koons, who remains in his associate director position.

Theatre professor Julia Listengarten has been named as the artistic director for Theatre Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½. The artistic director is typically responsible for conceiving, developing, and implementing the artistic vision of a theatre company.

Listengarten envisions her role as working with the theatre faculty to reimagine artistic goals of the department and develop a vision for upcoming seasons. Theatre associate professor Bert Scott, as director of production, will facilitate the technical production needs of the season.

“One of the exciting parts of this position for me is the fact that now we’re a School of Performing Arts—so there are theatre and music,� says Listengarten. While her position does not directly impact the music department, she looks forward to bringing the two areas closer together. “I’ve always tried to collaborate with musicians in the productions that I’ve directed, and I see artistic collaboration as a very important part of the merger.�

Tremon Kizer has been hired as associate director of bands and director of athletic bands. In this role, he will oversee all aspects of the athletic band program and teach courses in music education. As an award-winning educator, Kizer hopes his students take the skills they learn and apply them to every area of their lives. “I want to help our students become the best doctors, lawyers, educators, musicians, mothers, and fathers they can be,� he said. “Hopefully, they will apply what they learn into their path of life.�

Kizer earned his doctorate in musical arts from the University of South Carolina, his master of arts in music from the University of Central Missouri and his bachelors in music education from Kansas State University.

While the School conducts a nationwide search for a new director of bands, Dr. Chung Park, director of orchestras, will lead Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s Wind Ensemble in addition to the orchestra.

Assistant Professor Si-Yan Darren Li has been added to the music faculty, where he will be leading the cello studio. Li holds his bachelor of music degree from The Juilliard School, and his master of music degree and artist diploma from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.

Li started studying cello at age 5 and now holds prizes from numerous prestigious competitions around the world, such as the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow. He is also the recipient of the “American Masterpieces� Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

“Teaching cello has really become my biggest passion in life,� said Li. “I find it incredibly rewarding to help my students to grow as a cellist, a musician and a human being by sharing my experience, knowledge and wisdom. I believe that passion, devotion and honest communications are essential elements to great teaching.�

The theatre department also welcomes Assistant Professor Shawn Boyle to the faculty, where he will be teaching lighting design and working on Theatre Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s productions. Boyle has an extensive background as a projection and lighting designer, working in theatre, musical theater, opera, dance, installation, and architectural projects, as well as designing for several theaters and theme parks in the United States. As an associate projection designer for Elaine J. McCarthy, Boyle worked on productions of Wicked in the United States, Australia, Japan, Germany, Brazil, Holland and the United Kingdom.

Boyle earned his MFA in projection design from Yale School of Drama in 2015 and his BFA in Lighting Design from Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts.

Cynthia White, who has been serving on the theatre faculty as interim professor focusing on acting and directing, has been awarded the permanent position of lecturer in directing. The position is a shared one with the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, where she will also serve as the director of new play development. She was associate director and director of play development at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and taught at Pacific Lutheran University, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Western Washington University in Bellingham. She has directed professionally at numerous Shakespeare festivals, universities, and regional theatre around the country.

David Willmore will be Theatre Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s master electrician. Willmore holds a B.A. in theatre and dance with a concentration in design and technology from James Madison University and has been working in the electrics department at the Glimmerglass Festival in New York.

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Music faculty members David Brunner and Kelly A. Miller will lead the three choruses –  the University Chorus, the Women’s Chorus, and the Chamber Singers – in a variety of song styles, including folk, American, world, and classical.

The choruses will be joined by several guest artists. Theatre faculty member Kate Ingram will narrate a selection of readings including William Bradford’s Thanksgiving Proclamation and Pablo Neruda’s Ode to Gratitude. Tenor Jeremy Hunt will open the program with Leonard Bernstein’s “Simple Song.” Pianist Per Danielsson will be featured throughout the program. Other instrumentalists will perform throughout the concert. Dancers from Theatre Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ will also be participating in four of the pieces.

Brunner points out that the concert is “acoustically and physically immersive� and makes full use of the unique design of the chapel. The program is continuous and will last for 90 minutes, and the singers and dancers will be moving in and out of the audience throughout the concert.

Those attending are asked to bring donations of canned and non-perishable food items to benefit the community food pantry at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church.

For more information about Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Music, visit music.cah.ucf.edu.

Brunner has been recognized by ASCAP every year since 1997. The New York Times has described him as a “prolific choral writer whose name figures prominently on national repertory lists.�

Brunner has conducted seven concerts of his own works for chorus and orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Last year he conducted choirs from Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and China. This year he conducts in Virginia, Florida, Illinois and Washington with the Northwest Bach Festival Chorus. His consortium of 13 choirs premieres across the United States, Canada and Scotland.

For the past month, students have prepared for the Orlando Philharmonic’s opening night concert on Saturday, Sept. 25. The Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Choir will perform Gustav Mahler’s symphony No. 2, “Resurrection,â€� alongside the Orlando Philharmonic Opera Chorus and accompanied by the largest orchestra ever assembled by the Orlando Philharmonic.

The concert, “,” begins at 8:30 p.m. at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre, 401 W. Livingston St., in downtown Orlando.

“It’s a once in a lifetime chance,â€� says Clair Warrick, a student in the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Choir. “It’s such a big piece and is not performed very often because it’s so challenging.â€�

“Resurrection” is written for an orchestra, a mixed choir, two soloists (soprano and contralto), an organ and an offstage ensemble of brass and percussion.

After weeks of intense rehearsals, Friday will be the first time that the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ students will sing the piece with the Opera Chorus. The collaboration “demands careful preparation, musically sensitive singing and utmost professionalism,â€� said David Brunner, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s director of choral activities.

The Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Choir has a long history of collaborations with the Orlando Philharmonic performing a variety of pieces, including Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Aaron Copland’s “Old American Songs.â€� But this will be its first time performing such a monumental symphony.

“It’s a gorgeous piece, deep and dark, very different from our past performances,� Warrick said.

Traveling from London to New York, the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Choir has performed with the world-renowned Russian State Symphony and Sydney Symphony Orchestra. The group sang alongside Vanessa Williams at the Daytona 500 and graced Carnegie Hall with Brunner’s “Ode to the Present and Future Days.â€�

But few performances will compare to this year’s opening night concert, where 150 voices will come together to breathe life into the magnanimous “Resurrection.�

“The first words that come to mind when one thinks of Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony are ‘massive’ and ‘overwhelming,’ and when you’re in the Bob Carr, you will see that the layout itself speaks of the power of the piece,” said Christopher Wilkins, music director for the Orlando Philharmonic.

Single tickets to “Resurrection Symphony� are $14.75, $29, $39, $52 and $70. To purchase tickets, call the Philharmonic’s box office at 407-770-0071 or visit the Philharmonic’s website at .