The Viterbo community is invited to celebrate the university’s 125th anniversary and Franciscan heritage with a special performance by the Rose Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12 in the Viterbo University Fine Arts Center Main Theatre.

The Rose Ensemble will take the audience on a musical journey across the rustic countryside of Umbria and Tuscany to the spectacular churches of Florence and Rome as they present Il Poverello: Exploring the Life and Deeds of St. Francis of Assisi.

The performance will feature hymns, dances, and spirituals from across the centuries as well as lighthearted readings by and about St. Francis.

Founded in 1996, the mission of The Rose Ensemble is to perform vocal music that strives to stir the emotions, challenge the mind, and lift the spirit. Based in St. Paul, The Rose Ensemble has released 10 critically-acclaimed recordings and performs diverse concert programs that have thrilled audiences across the U.S. and Europe.

“They sing and play with a lusty ease that blows the doors off of old music,” wrote a reviewer in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

This performance is part of Viterbo’s Bright Star Season and is sponsored by Mayo Clinic Health System, The Lukasek Family Endowment Fund, and in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. Wisconsin Public Radio is the media sponsor.

Tickets are $36 for main floor, $32 for lower balcony, and $26 for upper balcony seating. For more information or to order tickets, visit the box office or www.viterbo.edu/tickets.