Department of Music

• January 4 2009 - January 11 2009

The University Singers, the University of Virginia’s premiere choral ensemble, will present a program of a cappella and accompanied works featuring composers from Tchesnokov and Tavener to Bernstein and Whitacre as part of their January 2009 Concert Tour. Led by UVa faculty conductor Michael Slon, the ensemble will perform in Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Richmond.

The tour repertoire will include Stephen Paulus’ new work “Psalm 46,” commissioned by the University Singers for their recent 50th anniversary celebration. Additional repertoire includes Tchesnokov’s “Spaseniye sodelal” and Pärt’s “Bogoroditse Deyvo,” along with Tavener’s “Song for Athene,” Rheinberger’s “Abendlied,” and Eric Whitacre’s “Sleep” – all favorites in the choral repertoire. The program will also feature a Sephardic wedding song sung in Ladino, a Czech folk song, and Leonard Bernstein’s soaring “Make Our Garden Grow” from Candide, sung in honor of the American musician’s 90th anniversary year. The UVa Chamber Singers (a select subset of the University Singers) will also appear, performing “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.”

The University Singers is the premier SATB chorus at UVa, and recently gave several sold-out performances of Carmina Burana with the Charlottesville and University Symphony Orchestra. Founded in 1957, the group performs a cappella and accompanied choral literature ranging from medieval chant to major choral-orchestral works, and the works of contemporary composers. Past repertoire has included Handel's Messiah, the Brahms Requiem, Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, and Mozart's Mass in C minor, as well as shorter pieces by Bruckner, Whitacre, Rachmaninoff, and Britten. Recent trips have taken the group to Atlanta, Charlotte, Charleston, New York City, Philadelphia, Virginia Beach, and the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., as well as the campuses of other American universities for collaborative concerts. The group has also been heard on European tours in England, Italy, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. The Singers have collaborated in concert with artists including Bobby McFerrin and Meredith Monk, and recently performed for Senator Hillary Clinton.

A freewill donation will be taken at the concerts. For more information please call (804) 908-0211 or visit www.virginia.edu/music/usingers

UVa University Singers January 2009 Concert Tour:

Sunday January 4, 2009:
Concert, 8:00 pm
The Summit Country Day School
2161 Grandin Road
Cincinnati, OH 45208

Monday January 5, 2009:
Concert, 7:00 pm
North United Methodist Church
3808 N. Meridian St.
Indianapolis, IN 46208

Tuesday January 6, 2009:
Concert, 8:00 pm
St Josaphat Church
2311 N Southport
Chicago, IL 60614

Thursday January 8, 2009:
Concert, 8:00 pm
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
620 Romeo Street
Rochester, Michigan 48307

Friday January 9, 2009:
Concert, 8:00 pm
St. Joseph University Church
3269 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14214

Saturday January 10, 2009:
Concert, 8:00 pm
First Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church
531 N. Neville Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Sunday January 11, 2009:
Concert, 6:00 pm
St. Giles Presbyterian Church
5200 Grove Avenue
Richmond, VA 23226