WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., June 19, 2015 — West Liberty University Professor of Music Linda Cowan performed at the June 18, 2015 Grand Reopening Celebration of Pittsburgh’s Heinz Memorial Chapel. She is a member of Pittsburgh-based OvreArts resident ensemble of Heinz Chapel and WLU’s chair of the Department of Music and Theater.
Additionally the music director and principal conductor of OvreArts is Ryan Keeling, a WLU alumnus who graduated with a bachelor of arts in music education in 2008.
The reopening ceremony included contemporary works by Pittsburgh composers to celebrate the reopening of the newly-air-conditioned Heinz Chapel. It was open to the public.
OvreArts is dedicated to uniting young, successful arts organizations and gifted individuals in a collaborative and collegial atmosphere by creating pioneering works of art. It was founded in 2011 by young local composers Blake Ragghianti and Luke Mayernik, former organist at Wheeling’s Cathedral of St. Joseph. Mayernik is married to WLU alumna Kassidy Wells, who earned a bachelor of music in performance in 2013.
Heinz Memorial Chapel is a nondenominational chapel on the University of Pittsburgh campus, a gift from Henry John Heinz.
It was completed in 1938 and its neo-Gothic architecture recalls church styles of the 13th-centruy Europe as interpreted by American architects at the turn of the 20th century.
The Division of Music at West Liberty University offers undergraduate degrees in music education, music performance, and music technology. Among its many ensembles are University Chorus, Wind Ensemble, Chamber Choir, Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and the Hilltopper Marching Band.
For more information, please call Cowan at 304-336-8293 or the main switchboard at 1.866.WestLib.