Wednesday, September 10, 2008

University of Utah Singers



The University of Utah Singers, an ensemble of approximately 45 voices organized in 2003, has won international acclaim through convention performances, concert tours, and participation in prestigious festivals and competitions. In 2006, they won the European Grand Prix International Choir Competition in Tolosa, Spain, in which they competed as a result of winning the Grand Prize at the 2005 Florilège Vocal de Tours International Choir Competition in Tours, France. Most recently, they toured to France by invitation to perform at three different festivals, and were featured on French national television at the Nancy International Choir Festival.

In addition to their international appearances, the Singers have been featured locally at state events, such as the inauguration of Governor Olene Walker and the 2004 opening session of the Utah State Senate. They also collaborate regularly with other Utah-based groups, including the 23rd Army Band, the Salt Lake Choral Artists, Brigham Young University Singers and Concert Choir, and the University of Utah Philharmonia, Wind Ensemble, A Cappella Choir, and Women’s Choir. They have performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, the Assembly Hall on Temple Square, and the Cathedral of the Madeleine, and at division and national conventions for the American Choral Directors Association and the Music Educators National Conference.

The Singers have premiered several new works, including William Hawley’s “Flos ut rosa Floruit,” for which they received a prize for the best new work at the Tours competition. In 2007, they were selected by the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition to premiere Judith Bingham’s “Ghost Towns of the American West” as part of an international performing consortium of choirs which included Vocal Essence and the BBC Singers.

The choir performs at Libby Gardner Concert Hall several times a year and much of their repertoire has been recorded on CD, including the double CD set If Music be the Food of Love, which features their 2006 and 2007 tour programs. They have also released a CD of American folk music, titled Home on the Range, two Christmas albums, and several other CDs with works ranging from the Renaissance to Broadway. For more information, please visit their website at www.uofusingers.org.