Tour: Hungary

Here we are in beautiful Pomaz, which is just outside of Budapest, Hungary. We're staying at the Choral Castle.



At the Choral Castle, there are performance halls, one of which we used last night. We drew a crowd to our concert and encored about a million times. We actually left the building and got called back in to encore again. It was a really wonderful experience, even if we were all exhausted after arriving at the Castle 2 hours behind schedule, lugging all our luggage up many, many flights of stairs, and changing clothes as fast as humanly possible. The audiences here are so incredibly appreciative! It is a joy to sing for them.

The Castle also has many rehearsal halls, one of which we utilized this morning. For part of our rehearsal, we got to work with Gyorgy Orban. We have learned two of his pieces this year and he workshopped with us a little bit. It was really fun and he is a very nice person!



We went to a nearby town called Szentendre for lunch and a small shopping excursion. The beautiful blue Danube runs right through this town. And of course they sell gelato. What could be more important? Not much.



We also went into Budapest itself for just a short time today. The view of the city from the citadel is breathtaking. We could all hardly believe what we were seeing. What an opportunity!



Finally, tonight we performed in the town of Telki to a standing-room-only crowd. People were jammed in every spare spot and even flooded out the door. We sang our hearts out to a wonderful crowd and had a great time. Telki is having their annual Spring Festival, and we got to go enjoy some local music and food afterwards. We work very hard, but we also play hard!



Hungary is great! The food is wonderful, the audiences are fantastic, the weather is beautiful, and the people are friendly. It's treating us well, and I think we're giving back in kind.

Tour: Goodbye, Prague!

I think all the Singers will agree that Prague is a beautiful city. Everyone was very excited to have one more day than we'd originally planned here. On our first day, even though we were all so tired, we were still very happy about being here!



We took a walking tour through the city and got acquainted with some of the cultural history of the area. Part of the tour included the large cathedral in the center of town. It is so beautiful inside! We all wanted to sing there, but unfortunately it wasn't on our list of concert stops. Next time!



The walking tour included the famous Charles Bridge, which many of us returned to the next day on our own free time. The bridge is crowded with merchants and tourists and locals just going from one side of the Moldau River to the other. Yes, that's the Moldau, or the Vltava, as it is called here. The composer Smetana lived in Prague and wrote a whole piece about the country. The Moldau is the central movement of the work.



Our first concert of the tour was in a local church. The audience was very appreciative and we had a great time. It was a wonderful way to start the concert portion of our tour!



Today, Thursday, we drove to a nearby town called Nymburk to sing in a church there. The acoustics were amazing. We shared the concert with a local Czech choir and really enjoyed each other. There's nothing quite like singing liturgical music in a cathedral that's built for it.



We had a small reception with some representatives from the Ministry of Culture in Nymburk. Dr. Allred got the key to the city! Okay, not really, but he did get some very thoughtful and beautiful gifts. We felt very welcome in the area and were happy to be there.



Tonight is our last night in Prague, and tomorrow we move on to Hungary. We've enjoyed it here, and we look forward to what's ahead!

Tour: The Beginning

The University Singers are in Prague!



On Monday, May 11, we all arrived at the airport and traveled to Atlanta and then to Prague. Everyone was very excited to go!

When we arrived in the city on Tuesday, we took a walking tour and had a whirlwind history lesson. I hate to admit it but I think I only heard about 10% of what our tour guide said. Jet lag is brutal!

Today we all went our separate ways and saw the sights---the Opera House, the Charles Bridge, the Jewish Quarter, Old Town...there's so much to take in! Tonight we'll sing our first concert on our tour. The first of many!

More pictures to come! The internet in our hotel is a little shady and it's making it difficult to post. There will be more, though, so keep checking back!

Water Passion Reviews

The reviews are in! And they are stellar. Here's just a small taste of what people have to say about the Water Passion:

"I can't quite believe what I heard tonight. It was so touching and beautiful. Thank you for giving this wonderful gift of a concert to us." --Karen Taylor, audience member

"Brady Allred presented the work with the University of Utah Singers and A Cappella Choir on Friday night in the Libby Gardner Concert Hall. To say that the work was fascinating merely scratches the surface. . . . There is no preparation in Western culture for the moving experience that awaits the listener during the chilling betrayal scene or the serenity of the concluding moments. At first uncomfortable, the music eventually permeates the being and leads to an ultimately moving experience." --The Salt Lake Tribune

"I want to thank you again for the AMAZING performance of Tan Dun's Water Passion this weekend. I thought about it - and am still - the rest of the weekend and told as many people as I could to go on Saturday night. Ken and I just marveled at the quality of the production and felt incredibly fortunate to have been in the audience. Our daughter Ruby told us this had been the most memorable performance of her life and we could certainly see why. Thank you, thank you, and the School of Music for one of the most compelling, captivating, and beautiful musical events I have ever seen/heard. This was fabulous!" --Donna White, audience member and Chair of the UU Department of Modern Dance

"And hypnotic is exactly what "Water Passion" is. Tan uses quite simple means to capture the emotional impact the story of Christ's crucifixion has. A violin, cello, synthesizer and three sets of percussion join a large chorus in bringing this story to life. Of course, the work needs the right conductor to invigorate the music and capture its soul. And Allred did just that. With his perceptive direction he made Tan's 'Water Passion' speak to the audience. The listener felt the tenderness of Jesus, the anger of the mob and the horror of Christ's death on the cross. Allred's interpretative talents were put to the test with this work, and he passed with flying colors." --Deseret News

"My wife and I attended the performance of this work last week and wanted to thank you so much for bringing it to our community. We were both overwhelmed with it. I have seen many many concerts, by some of the world's finest and most famous musicians; however, the Water Passion concert you orchestrated was the best musical performance I've ever witnessed. Thank you and all the performers for their hard work and discipline, and thank you for bringing such a fascinating work to SLC. With the exception of Mahler's 2nd, I don't think I've heard a more compelling work on the life of Christ. But as great as the music is, it wouldn't have been half as interesting without the passion, enthusiasm and excellence you paired with it. Thank you once again and keep up the good work, what you do is a treasure to our city." --Eric Wadley, audience member

What did you think? Tell us! Leave a comment.

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