Brady Allred and Nancy Wertsch
Recently, we premiered a piece by New York composer Nancy Wertsch, "Hail Holy Light." The work is a double choir piece set in Latin and in English, and boy is it lovely.
What does "double choir" mean? The usual 47 of us were divided up into two groups of 23.5 (bless the poor Soprano who had to split in half) and we sing practically facing each other with Dr. Allred conducting in between the two choirs.
As a result, the audience experiences an etherial "in-stereo" sound that really brings this piece to life. Cool!
One of the choir's great friends, Dave R. with the help of Kelly N. assembled a spectacular "mini-documentary" about the work. Have a few minutes? Check it out.
As a member of the choir, I'll say that this piece was not easy to learn. However, with some diligence and a lot of rehearsal, it found its way into my heart and into the hearts of the Singers as a group.
So what did the audience think? Here's what they said:
"I love the lush, fluid choral sound that comes from [your] ensemble. My soul was filled up tonight."
"You guys have another sound: uninhibited and disciplined."
"The [song] was great. The quality of music was awesome."
Great feedback! Thanks to the audience members who stayed a minute to chat with us.
Now before I go memorize more music, I must insist that you DO NOT MISS Tan Dun's Water Passion (After St. Matthew) coming up April 10th and 11th at Libby Gardner Hall.
Tan Dun knows his stuff (he did win a Grammy) and this show is sure to be out of this world.
More info to come!
Can't wait? Visit http://singers.utah.edu
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