The U of U Singers and "Hail Holy Light"

Brady Allred and Nancy Wertsch

The University of Utah Singers tend to attract cutting edge composers of the day, and this season has been no exception.

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

Have something to add? Leave a comment!

U of U Singers on iTunes U

Have you ever wanted access to more of the U of U Singers than you ever thought possible?

Are you feeling down that you missed our last concert? (Which was awesome, by the way.)

Are you a poor college student and can't afford our killer CD's?

Well have we got news for you...

The University of Utah Singers are now an official fixture on iTunes U, making ALL of our repertoire and ALL of our live recordings available for U!

As of today we've uploaded all of our live recordings from the '08-'09 academic year, but soon enough our magic recording guru Dan will have everything the UUS and a lot of the other great ensembles at the U have EVER done since concert #1 in September of '03. WOW.

Remember the beautiful beast that was Belshazzar's Feast? The awesomeness of Monteverdi's Vespers? Want to hear what we were up to on our last European tour?

You can! Visit us at iTunes U and see what we're talking about!

Want more info? Visit http://singers.utah.edu or shoot us an email at universityofutahsingers@gmail.com

Does this tickle your fancy?

Does this tick you off?

Let us know... Comment!

U of U CFAC 60th Anniversary, Bobby McFerrin

Looking for a reason to celebrate? How about the University of Utah College of Fine Arts' 60th anniversary!

Following a whole week of events (beginning with the exhilarating Bobby McFerrin workshop/concert), this weekend the U of U Singers will join other Fine Arts students at the University of Utah in a celebratory concert Saturday night at Kingsbury Hall. Including music, theater, and dance performances, this concert should be a great time.

Here are the details:

Friday, March 13 -- 8:00 PM -- Kingsbury Hall

Tickets are $30 General, $20 Staff/Faculty, and $10 Students

They can be purchased at www.kingsburyhall.org or at 801-581-7100

On that note, the Bobby McFerrin workshop/concert was a BLAST! In addition to the other vocal students at the U, the U of U Singers all attended a workshop with Mr. McFerrin where we got to hear him speak his genius mind on music, life, and what it means to be an artist.

(Oh, and we heard his amazing singing, too!)

I must say, for me the true highlight was when two of UUS's very own members were able to get up and jam with the legendary artist!

Did you attend the workshop?

Are you a fan of Bobby McFerrin and want to gush?

Have something else to say that's completely off topic??

Feel free to comment!

Want more information? Visit http://singers.utah.edu