Vocal Point, a UMSL performance group, will premiere "Love Is, Love Says ..." at a concert Nov. 11 at the Touhill.

Vocal Point, the University of Missouri–St. Louis a cappella chamber choir, will premiere “Love is, Love Says… ,” a new choral piece by Beth Denisch, during the Women In the Arts International Conference. The piece will be part of “The Music of Beth Denisch,” a concert that will be held at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 11 in the J.C. Penney Conference Center Auditorium on UMSL’s North Campus, 1 University Blvd. in St. Louis County (63121).

Denisch is composer-in-residence for the WIA conference. She based her choral piece on Samuel B. Hanser’s poem “Many Blessings: The Remembrance of One,” after his death in 2010.

“This poem is meant to inspire and empower others to fill their lives with love,” Denisch said. “It has been a blessing and healing experience to meditate on these words.”

Denisch is a professor of composition at Berklee College of Music in Boston. She was the founding director of the American Composers Forum New England. Originally from Baltimore, Denisch holds doctoral and master’s degrees in music from Boston University and a bachelor of music degree from the University of North Texas in Denton.

Formed in the fall of 2005 under the direction of James Henry, Vocal Point has distinguished itself as one of St. Louis’s premiere a cappella ensembles. The group consists of about 20 singers, who are selected by audition.

Henry is an award-winning conductor and singer. He is an associate professor and director of Choral Studies at UMSL, where he conducts the University Singers and Vocal Point, and teaches choral methods, choral arranging, choral conducting and counterpoint.

“The Music of Beth Denisch” is free and open to the public. For more information, call Barbara Harbach at 314-516-4990 or e-mail bharbach@umsl.edu.