Can Beethoven turn a Scottish folk tune into art? Does an arrangement of a spiritual have qualities that elevate it to the level of art? Can ancient texts be given new life through the imagination of a modern composer?

One hundred Longwood students will explore these questions in “The Poetry of Music,” a choral concert to be presented Monday, March, 18 at 7:30 p.m. in Jarman Auditorium. Men's Choir, Women's Choir and Camerata Singers will present songs built on the shoulders of literary giants.

Poets combine phonemes, words and phrases with structure, meter and rhythm to create an expressive work. Composers hear the meter, imagine the meaning and respond with their own artistic expression. They capture their response to literary art in mu-sical sound-in melody and harmony, rhythm and meter, and in the colors of human voices and instruments.

“The Poetry of Music” is the only concert to feature the combined Longwood choirs. The concert is free and open to the pub-lic, and the music is appropriate for all ages. The choirs are accompanied by Dr. Lisa Kinzer, Carole Harper and Teri Kidd (pi-ano and organ); are assisted by Kendra Spicer (cello), Spencer Smith (violin) and Andrew Bentley (baritone); and are under the direction of Dr. Pamela McDermott, assisted by student conductor Meredith Didlake.