The first concert of the 2009/2010 academic year, the Fall Choral Showcase, is over, and it went great. Here's what a few of the members of the choir have to say about it:
Blythe Enke (Soprano II): “There is no way to truly describe the feeling of performing with the Singers until you're right there, actually doing it... I wasn't prepared for the way I would feel when we walked onto the stage, I was so overcome with emotion that I felt like I wanted to laugh, cry, and be lifted up into the sky all at once... hallelujah!"
Anna Lucero (Alto II): "The music was absolutely phenomenal-I was going to die it was so beautiful!"
Paul Hill (Bass II): "I was really pleased with our performance and I received lots of positive feedback about it. I was told by one person that it was nice for him to hear a concert where everyone was in tune. My mom had tears in her eyes as we finished the Circle of Life and I knew we'd done something special.”
Were you there? Tell us what you thought! Leave a comment.
Miss the concert? Join the University of Utah Singers Facebook fan page to not only keep up on all the latest news and announcements regarding the choir, but also to see videos from this and other performances! Currently, our featured video is Eric Whitacre's "Hope, Faith, Life, Love." More videos can also be viewed on our YouTube page.
Join today!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Choral Showcase coming soon!
The first concert of the 2009-2010 season is just two weeks away: the Choral Showcase!
The concert features the Singers, the A Cappella Choir, and the Women's Choir and comes after all the choirs only being together for about 3 1/2 weeks. It's a crazy, adrenaline-filled few weeks, and the Showcase is the result! It's always a fun concert and gives a great preview of what wonderful things are going to come during the year.
It's Saturday, September 19, at 7:30 PM at Libby Gardner Concert Hall.
Tickets are $3 for students and $7 for general admission. They are available from any choir member, from the Kingsbury Hall box office, or from the box office at Libby Gardner Concert Hall the night of the concert.
Don't miss it!
The concert features the Singers, the A Cappella Choir, and the Women's Choir and comes after all the choirs only being together for about 3 1/2 weeks. It's a crazy, adrenaline-filled few weeks, and the Showcase is the result! It's always a fun concert and gives a great preview of what wonderful things are going to come during the year.
It's Saturday, September 19, at 7:30 PM at Libby Gardner Concert Hall.
Tickets are $3 for students and $7 for general admission. They are available from any choir member, from the Kingsbury Hall box office, or from the box office at Libby Gardner Concert Hall the night of the concert.
Don't miss it!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Tour Videos
Waiting that last month before the next University Singers concert? Why not fill the time with some videos from our European concert tour?
All of the videos from the competition laps of the Marktoberdorf competition are now available on our youtube channel. Videos from the rest of the festival, including the final concert and the prizewinners concert, are forthcoming.
In the meantime, we're also working on adding videos from our concerts throughout the tour. The first of these is Trond Kverno's "Ave Maris Stella" from our concert in the Knights' Hall of Brezice Castle, Slovenia. More videos like this will be coming soon! Keep watching!
All of the videos from the competition laps of the Marktoberdorf competition are now available on our youtube channel. Videos from the rest of the festival, including the final concert and the prizewinners concert, are forthcoming.
In the meantime, we're also working on adding videos from our concerts throughout the tour. The first of these is Trond Kverno's "Ave Maris Stella" from our concert in the Knights' Hall of Brezice Castle, Slovenia. More videos like this will be coming soon! Keep watching!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Singers over the summer
The school year is over and tour is finished, but that doesn't mean you can't still hear the Singers! Can't get enough of us? Here are a few ways to keep up with us over the summer.
New CD
Did you know we released a new CD? The Cloths of Heaven was released at our Bon Voyage concert the night before we left on tour.
Featuring repertoire from the Singers' 2007-2008 season, this is our ninth release. The CD includes Anton Bruckner's classic motet "Os justi meditabitur sapientiam," Eric Whitacre's beautiful "Five Hebrew Love Songs," and the world premiere of William Hawley's "The Cloths of Heaven," which was commissioned by the choir. Choral music fans will also find spirituals, gospel music, and sacred and secular music from all over the world.
You can buy it here. Don't worry: the order form will be updated soon! Sound samples will also be available soon here.
Competition Videos
Wish you could've heard us at competition? Now you can! Videos from our performances at Martkoberdorf are being uploaded onto our Youtube channel. There are currently six videos available with more to come!
iTunes
Don't forget that all of our live performances are available for free download on iTunes. You can also purchase our CDs from iTunes. Recordings from many of our tour performances and the competition are forthcoming---keep watching!
And of course, don't forget to keep up with us on facebook!
New CD
Did you know we released a new CD? The Cloths of Heaven was released at our Bon Voyage concert the night before we left on tour.
Featuring repertoire from the Singers' 2007-2008 season, this is our ninth release. The CD includes Anton Bruckner's classic motet "Os justi meditabitur sapientiam," Eric Whitacre's beautiful "Five Hebrew Love Songs," and the world premiere of William Hawley's "The Cloths of Heaven," which was commissioned by the choir. Choral music fans will also find spirituals, gospel music, and sacred and secular music from all over the world.
You can buy it here. Don't worry: the order form will be updated soon! Sound samples will also be available soon here.
Competition Videos
Wish you could've heard us at competition? Now you can! Videos from our performances at Martkoberdorf are being uploaded onto our Youtube channel. There are currently six videos available with more to come!
iTunes
Don't forget that all of our live performances are available for free download on iTunes. You can also purchase our CDs from iTunes. Recordings from many of our tour performances and the competition are forthcoming---keep watching!
And of course, don't forget to keep up with us on facebook!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tour: Results!
You may have already heard. But I'm going to say it again.
WE WON!!!
Yes! That's right! The University of Utah Singers took first prize at the 11th International Chamber Choir Competition in Marktoberdorf! We couldn't possibly be more excited about it!
Here's a rundown of everything we won:
1st Prize in the Mixed Choir Category
3rd Prize in the Youth Choir Category
Special Prize for the best interpretation of a work premiered at the competition (Nancy Wertsch's "Hail Holy Light")
The anticipation yesterday was about killing us. We sat in the hall and held hands and clapped and cried and had so much nervous energy that I think we almost exploded. The whole hall was electric with it, with hundreds of singers awaiting the results of a whole lot of hard work.
When they called our name, we all leaped to our feet, jumped up and down, screamed, cried, hugged, clapped. It was an incredible feeling, and something we will never forget!
I know I speak for the whole choir when I say thank you to Dr. Allred, who made the whole thing possible. We would not be the choir we are without him. Thank you for teaching us the technical skills and drawing out the emotion. You make it possible for us to sing with our hearts. With you, we don't just sing, we make music. Thank you!
And personally, I want to thank the entire choir for being so wonderful during the year and especially this tour. It was fantastic!
And we won! WE WON!!
WE WON!!!
Yes! That's right! The University of Utah Singers took first prize at the 11th International Chamber Choir Competition in Marktoberdorf! We couldn't possibly be more excited about it!
Here's a rundown of everything we won:
1st Prize in the Mixed Choir Category
3rd Prize in the Youth Choir Category
Special Prize for the best interpretation of a work premiered at the competition (Nancy Wertsch's "Hail Holy Light")
The anticipation yesterday was about killing us. We sat in the hall and held hands and clapped and cried and had so much nervous energy that I think we almost exploded. The whole hall was electric with it, with hundreds of singers awaiting the results of a whole lot of hard work.
When they called our name, we all leaped to our feet, jumped up and down, screamed, cried, hugged, clapped. It was an incredible feeling, and something we will never forget!
I know I speak for the whole choir when I say thank you to Dr. Allred, who made the whole thing possible. We would not be the choir we are without him. Thank you for teaching us the technical skills and drawing out the emotion. You make it possible for us to sing with our hearts. With you, we don't just sing, we make music. Thank you!
And personally, I want to thank the entire choir for being so wonderful during the year and especially this tour. It was fantastic!
And we won! WE WON!!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tour: Marktoberdorf
Today, Sunday, is the second day of competition at the 11th International Chamber Choir Competition in Marktoberdorf, Germany. We finished competing at around 1:00 this afternoon---and we finished with a bang!
We arrived on Friday and enjoyed a concert and some opening ceremonies. We got to meet all the other choirs. In total, there are 13 choirs competing: five in the youth choir category and eight in the mixed adult choir category. The Singers are entered in both categories, so some of us had to compete four times! There are choirs from all over. We’re the only group from the United States, but there are choirs from Argentina, Ireland, Slovenia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Norway, Germany, and possibly some place I’m forgetting.
It’s been very fun to hear all of these groups perform! They represent some of the best in the world and it’s an honor to be numbered among them.
Saturday was the first round. This round had to be between 20 and 25 minutes, and had to follow certain rules. For example, there was a compulsory piece that every choir had to perform, and every piece had to be sung acappella. It was interesting to hear all the different interpretations of the same music. The Singers’ mixed choir was the third to perform on Saturday morning. We all felt really good about how we performed. We sang a great mix of pieces, including Romantic era music, spirituals, and “Hail Holy Light,” our commissioned piece, and the audience seemed to really love it all. We sang with a lot of spirit, energy, and emotion, and were able to connect with each other and the listeners. Hopefully we connected with the jury, too!
Our youth choir performed first in the afternoon section, and they did a great job too. We have all learned so much wonderful music this year, and it is a remarkable thing to be able to get on that competition stage and just send it right out to everyone in the hall!
Today was round two, which is the free program. This program can only be 10 minutes long, and there are no rules about accompaniment and no compulsory pieces. The youth choir performed in the morning as the last in their category, and did a fantastic job! The mixed choir also got to go last and ended the entire competition. What an amazing opportunity!
We won’t get the results until Tuesday, but we all feel really good about what we did. And the truth is that no matter what the results are, we know we did our best, and we gave some incredible performances. We have come together in such a wonderful way, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we have accomplished. I think we all feel the same.
Of course, we DO want to win . . . we’ll see what happens!
We arrived on Friday and enjoyed a concert and some opening ceremonies. We got to meet all the other choirs. In total, there are 13 choirs competing: five in the youth choir category and eight in the mixed adult choir category. The Singers are entered in both categories, so some of us had to compete four times! There are choirs from all over. We’re the only group from the United States, but there are choirs from Argentina, Ireland, Slovenia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Norway, Germany, and possibly some place I’m forgetting.
It’s been very fun to hear all of these groups perform! They represent some of the best in the world and it’s an honor to be numbered among them.
Saturday was the first round. This round had to be between 20 and 25 minutes, and had to follow certain rules. For example, there was a compulsory piece that every choir had to perform, and every piece had to be sung acappella. It was interesting to hear all the different interpretations of the same music. The Singers’ mixed choir was the third to perform on Saturday morning. We all felt really good about how we performed. We sang a great mix of pieces, including Romantic era music, spirituals, and “Hail Holy Light,” our commissioned piece, and the audience seemed to really love it all. We sang with a lot of spirit, energy, and emotion, and were able to connect with each other and the listeners. Hopefully we connected with the jury, too!
Our youth choir performed first in the afternoon section, and they did a great job too. We have all learned so much wonderful music this year, and it is a remarkable thing to be able to get on that competition stage and just send it right out to everyone in the hall!
Today was round two, which is the free program. This program can only be 10 minutes long, and there are no rules about accompaniment and no compulsory pieces. The youth choir performed in the morning as the last in their category, and did a fantastic job! The mixed choir also got to go last and ended the entire competition. What an amazing opportunity!
We won’t get the results until Tuesday, but we all feel really good about what we did. And the truth is that no matter what the results are, we know we did our best, and we gave some incredible performances. We have come together in such a wonderful way, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we have accomplished. I think we all feel the same.
Of course, we DO want to win . . . we’ll see what happens!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tour: Austria and Munich
Today the University Singers are in Munich, recording in the Himmelfahrtskirche. But more on that in a moment. First, let me finish reporting on Slovenia the right way: with some pictures.
After Gorizia came Koper, a beautiful town on the Adriatic Sea. Everyone enjoyed walking along the coast and doing a little swimming during the day. That evening, we sang in the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
Special thanks to the University of Primorska Academic Choir who hosted us for this concert!
The next day, we headed toward Ljubljana but first stopped in the Postojna caves. I wish I had a picture to show you from these caves; they are incredibly vast and amazing. The guide told us they were at least three million years old! But they said no photos, unfortunately. At the end, there is a very large cave that they call a concert hall and we got to sing a couple of songs there. Other tour groups were so interested in us they asked us when and where our next concert was!
For those that were staying in the area, they were in luck, because our next concert was in St. Jacob's Church in Ljubljana. We enjoyed getting to meet with and hear Urska Fabijan's Mysterium choir. It was also fun to sing with them!
The concert with Mysterium ended our time in Ljubljana, and we were sad to go. As I mentioned before, we really enjoyed ourselves there! Thanks again to everyone for the hospitality.
After Slovenia, we headed to Austria where we stayed in Salzburg for a couple of days. Of course, we made sure to see all the Sound of Music sights.
We also got to sing in the Salzburg Cathedral.
After enjoying some time in Salzburg on our own, we headed to nearby Bergheim to sing for Mass in the Pfarrkirche, and then perform a joint concert with the Volklslied Choir in the Pfarrkirche. It was fun to trade songs back and forth with the choir, and then to sing with them at the end.
Far too soon, we boarded the bus and left Austria, and arrived here in Munich on Thursday morning. Our purpose here is to record in the Himmelfahrtskirche. Those of you familiar with our repertoire and/or recording history may know that our CD A Jubilant Song was recorded in this same church several years ago. It's fun to be back!
We'll record a little bit more tomorrow morning and then we're off to Marktoberdorf! The festival starts on Friday with a big opening concert gala, and the competition starts on Saturday. We'll compete on both Saturday and Sunday. If there's internet access, I'll be sure to keep you updated!
After Gorizia came Koper, a beautiful town on the Adriatic Sea. Everyone enjoyed walking along the coast and doing a little swimming during the day. That evening, we sang in the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
Special thanks to the University of Primorska Academic Choir who hosted us for this concert!
The next day, we headed toward Ljubljana but first stopped in the Postojna caves. I wish I had a picture to show you from these caves; they are incredibly vast and amazing. The guide told us they were at least three million years old! But they said no photos, unfortunately. At the end, there is a very large cave that they call a concert hall and we got to sing a couple of songs there. Other tour groups were so interested in us they asked us when and where our next concert was!
For those that were staying in the area, they were in luck, because our next concert was in St. Jacob's Church in Ljubljana. We enjoyed getting to meet with and hear Urska Fabijan's Mysterium choir. It was also fun to sing with them!
The concert with Mysterium ended our time in Ljubljana, and we were sad to go. As I mentioned before, we really enjoyed ourselves there! Thanks again to everyone for the hospitality.
After Slovenia, we headed to Austria where we stayed in Salzburg for a couple of days. Of course, we made sure to see all the Sound of Music sights.
We also got to sing in the Salzburg Cathedral.
After enjoying some time in Salzburg on our own, we headed to nearby Bergheim to sing for Mass in the Pfarrkirche, and then perform a joint concert with the Volklslied Choir in the Pfarrkirche. It was fun to trade songs back and forth with the choir, and then to sing with them at the end.
Far too soon, we boarded the bus and left Austria, and arrived here in Munich on Thursday morning. Our purpose here is to record in the Himmelfahrtskirche. Those of you familiar with our repertoire and/or recording history may know that our CD A Jubilant Song was recorded in this same church several years ago. It's fun to be back!
We'll record a little bit more tomorrow morning and then we're off to Marktoberdorf! The festival starts on Friday with a big opening concert gala, and the competition starts on Saturday. We'll compete on both Saturday and Sunday. If there's internet access, I'll be sure to keep you updated!
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