Department of Music

• Starts January 4, 2013 (see below for concert dates)
• Northeastern U.S. (see below for concert locations)

The University Singers, the University of Virginia’s premiere choral ensemble, will present a program of a cappella and accompanied works featuring composers from Rachmaninoff and Palestrina to Shatin, Gershwin, and Whitacre as part of their January 2013 Northeast Concert Tour.  Led by UVa faculty conductor Michael Slon, the ensemble will perform in Charlottesville and Waynesboro, VA as well as Philadelphia, Greenwich (CT), New York City, Boston, Providence, and Washington, D.C.  The Charlottesville concert is a special joint performance with the Cornell University Glee Club. 

The tour program will include UVa composer Judith Shatin’s new work “Birkat Hakohanim,” (the Hebrew blessing with begins “The Lord bless you and keep you…”) commissioned by the University Singers.  A movement from Rachmaninoff’s Vespers, Gyöngyösi’s “Te lucis ante terminum,” and Stanford’s “Beati Quorum Via” will also be featured, along with a work originally written for a Disney motion picture, Whitacre’s “The Seal Lullaby.”  The program also includes an aboriginal Australian piece, an Icelandic lullaby, and Halloran’s “Witness.”  The UVa Chamber Singers (a select ensemble drawn from the membership of the University Singers) will sing Palestrina’s “Sicut Cervus” and Gershwin’s “Embraceable You.”  University of Virginia alumni in attendance will be able to join the Singers in the traditional UVa songs. 

The University Singers is the premier mixed-voice chorus at UVa, and recently gave an acclaimed performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah in Charlottesville. 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. In addition to the Mendelssohn, recent repertoire has included Bach's Mass in B minor, the Bernstein Chichester Psalms, and Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms, as well as shorter pieces by Britten, Kodály, Parry, and Whitacre.  Recent trips have taken the group to Atlanta, Buffalo, Charlotte, Charleston, Chicago, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Virginia Beach, and the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. Other recent highlights have included: performances with the Charlottesville & University Symphony Orchestra, including the popular Family Holiday Concerts; concerts and workshops with Bobby McFerrin, Meredith Monk, and members of the Tallis Scholars; and a performance for Hillary Clinton. In 2010, the University Singers were chosen as the sole collegiate chorus to perform at the Virginia Music Educators Association (VMEA) Conference.

A freewill donation will be taken at all of the tour concerts, except the Charlottesville and Waynesboro, VA concerts.  For more information please call (757) 810-2932 or visit www.virginia.edu/music/usingers.

UVa University Singers January 2013 Northeast Concert Tour:

Friday January 4, 2013:
Concert, 7:30 pm
w/ the Cornell University Glee Club
$15 Adults / $10 Students
University Baptist Church
1223 West Main Street
Charlottesville, VA  22903

Saturday January 5, 2013
Concert, 7:30 pm
SS. Simon and Jude Parish
8 Cavanaugh Court
West Chester, PA 19832
Contact for housing students: Adam Pelleg, atp2g@virginia.edu

Sunday January 6, 2013
Concert, 5:00 pm
Christ Church Greenwich
254 E. Putnam Avenue
Greenwich, CT 06830
Contact for housing students: Linda-Austin Small, Musicdept@christchurchgreenwich.org

Monday January 7, 2013
Concert, 7:30 pm
St. James’ Church
865 Madison Avenue 
New York, NY 10021

Wednesday January 9, 2013:
Concert, 8:00 pm
St. Paul Parish
29 Mount Auburn Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact for housing students: Emilia Buckley, pjembuckley@verizon.net

Thursday January 10, 2011:
Concert, 8:00 pm
Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul
30 Fenner St.
Providence, RI 02903
Contact for hosting students: Maureen Conroy, (401)-435-3747

Friday January 11, 2013:
Concert, 8:00 pm
St. Dominic Parish
630 East Street S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20024
Contact for housing students: Gayle Lennon, gaylelennon@verizon.net

Saturday January 12, 2013:
Concert, 7:30 pm
First Presbyterian Church 11 North Wayne Avenu, Waynesboro, VA 22980
$25, tickets available at the door or through http://waynesboroconcerts.org/