Westminster Conservatory will observe the 400^th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare by presenting three faculty recitals in April.

On Sunday, April 3 at 3 p.m. “Shakespeare Revisited” will offer new compositions based on texts and themes of Shakespeare by Westminster composers. On Sunday, April 17 at 3 p.m. “Shakespeare in Song” will feature members of the Westminster Conservatory voice faculty performing settings of Shakespearian texts from the 18th to 21st centuries. These two recitals are part of the Kaleidoscope Chamber Series and will take place in Gill Chapel on the Rider University campus in Lawrenceville. Admission is free.

The third event is part of the noontimes series, Westminster Conservatory at Nassau. Thursday, April 21 at 12:15 p.m., pianist Mary Greenberg will perform works for solo piano that relate to works of Shakespeare. She will also perform the related texts. This recital will take place in the Niles Chapel of Nassau Presbyterian Church, 61 Nassau Street in Princeton. Admission is free.

On April 3 the program comprises Four Shakespeare Songs by Eric Houghton; How oft when thou, my music, music play’st for voice and guitar by Peter Plomchok; Lady Macbeth for oboe and piano by Craig Levesque; and This Life is Most Jolly for voice and harp by Emily Delia. Other new works on the April 3 program include Movie Night for flute, clarinet, and piano by Michael Green; the Petite Suite for flute, clarinet, and viola by Craig Levesque; Trio in E-flat for oboe, viola, and piano by Cecelia Reilly; and Family History for voice and guitar by Peter Plomchok. The performers on April 3 include Tracey Chebra, soprano; Jill Crawford and Kevin Willois, flute; Melissa Bohl, oboe; Kenneth Ellison, clarinet; Gabrielle Michel, viola; Peter Plomchok, guitar; Christopher McWilliams, piano; and Emily Delia, voice and harp.

On April 17 soprano Danielle Sinclair will perform Sonnet XVII by W.A. Aiken, How shall I my true love know by Roger Quilter, Sie trugen ihn auf der Bahre bloß by Richard Strauss and Sigh no more, ladies by Patrick Doyle. Soprano Tracey Chebra will perform Four Shakespeare Songs by Eric Houghton; baritone Timothy Urban will perform Tell me where is fancy bred by Elliot Carter and Come away death by Jean Sibelius; and tenor Krishna Raman, will perform O mistress mine by Roger Quilter and An Sylvia by Franz Schubert). Soprano Danielle Sinclair and mezzo-soprano Alexis Peart will perform The Fairy Song, a duet by Felix Mendelssohn from the incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The singers will be accompanied by pianists Kathy Shanklin and Eric Houghton.

On April 21 the program for the Westminster Conservatory at Nassau recital will comprise Ständchen von Shakespeare, Franz Liszt’s realization of the song by Franz Schubert, the first movement of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 17 in D minor op. 31, no. 2 “The Tempest;” and excerpts from Sergei Prokofiev’s Ten Pieces from Romeo and Juliet, op. 75. Pianist Mary Greenberg will present the Shakespearean sources by reciting “Hark, Hark, the Lark” from Cymbeline, Ariel’s speech “All Hail, Great Master” from The Tempest, and Juliet’s “Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds” from Romeo and Juliet.

For further information on any of these three recitals call the Westminster Choir College box office at (609) 921-2663.

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