Department of Music
Department of Music

Chamber Singers

UVA Chamber Singers spring 2024, Michael Slon conducting

Founded in 2005 and conducted by Michael Slon, the UVA Chamber Singers is a select ensemble drawn from the University Singers; committed to broad programming perspectives, the group performs a wide variety of repertoire ranging from early music to contemporary compositions. In addition to a performance for the Governor and other distinguished guests at UVA’s 2017 Bicentennial Cornerstone Celebration and a 2024 Campaign Songs collaboration with the UVA Center for Politics where students sang with Martin Luther King III, performances have included: Britten’s Hymn to St. Cecilia, Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas (with Three Notch’d Road Baroque ensemble), Byrd’s Mass for 5 voices, Bach’s Ascension Oratorio, Copland’s In the Beginning, programs of Latin American choral music, folk songs, choral music from film and Broadway, and new music by Meredith Monk (performed with the Meredith Monk Vocal Ensemble.) In addition, the group has performed popular standards by Harold Arlen, Ben Folds, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, and the Beatles, a spoof concert of P.D.Q. Bach, and new music by Michael Gordon (during Bang on a Can’s UVA residency), Arvo Pärt, Jake Runestad, Cecilia McDowall, and other leading composers.
 

In 2012, the Chamber Singers participated in a workshop with Peter Phillips and members of the world-famous Tallis Scholars. In 2014, they were honored to perform for composer Philip Glass during his UVA Arts Board Residency. Other collaborations include concerts with the Staunton Music Festival (including a performance with Grammy-award winning baritone Kevin McMillan), the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival, Victory Hall Opera (in pioneering presentations of Poulenc and Gluck operas with deaf actors), the Charlottesville Ballet, and a 2022 presentation of Defiant Requiem (honoring the prisoners at Terezin who performed the Verdi Requiem) at the Strathmore Music Center with five other universities. They’ve also been heard in major works, at VMEA (2010) and Virginia All–State (2025), and on tour in the U.S., Canada, and Europe with the University Singers, including for Evensong with the Jesus College Choir at Cambridge University.

Auditions: Auditions for the University Singers & Chamber Singers take place at the beginning of each semester. For more info, visit here and fill out the interest form.