Department of Music

The University Singers will tour Europe in the spring of 2015.  Help sponsor a Singer for this extraordinary musical and cultural opportunity!

The McIntire Department of Music presents the University Singers on Friday, November 21st, 2014 at 8pm in Old Cabell Hall.

Join us November 21st at 8:00 pm as the University Singers present their Fall Concert 2014, featuring a preview of the ensemble’s European tour program.  The concert features composers from Whitacre, Finzi and Pärt to settings of “Shenandoah,” the American spiritual “Ride On, King Jesus,” and the Biebl “Ave Maria.”  Special highlights include pieces from Polish and Czech composers, a Lithuanian folk song, and a Manhattan Transfer arrangement of “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.”  Led by UVa faculty conductor Michael Slon, the Fall 2014 Concert takes place Friday, November 21st at 8:00 pm in Old Cabell Hall.

The University Singers is the University of Virginia’s premier choral ensemble, performing a cappella and accompanied choral literature including major works with orchestra. Founded in 1957, the group became a primarily student ensemble soon after UVa began admitting women in 1970, and celebrated their 50th anniversary with the 2007-2008 season. Recent repertoire has included Handel's Messiah, Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem with the Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia, Bach's Mass in B minor, Orff’s Carmina Burana, the Duruflé Requiem, and Mozart's Mass in C minor, as well as a range of shorter a cappella works. Recent trips have taken the group to Atlanta, Buffalo, Charlotte, Charleston, Chicago, Cincinnati, New Orleans, 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. Recordings include a CD of Mozart's Coronation Mass and Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, as well as the newest release, My Spirit Sang All Day. In past years highlights have included concerts and workshops with Bobby McFerrin and Meredith Monk, a performance for Hillary Clinton, commissioning projects with Stephen Paulus and Eric Whitacre, a performance for the 2010 VMEA Conference, and frequent collaborations with the Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia.

Students in the University Singers come from UVa's six undergraduate schools, including Arts and Sciences, Education, and Engineering, as well as several of the University's graduate and professional schools. While approximately 25-30% are music majors, the ensemble is open to any student by audition, and is a for-credit curricular class. Together, members enjoy an esprit de corps that arises from the pursuit of musical excellence, and the camaraderie the singers develop offstage.

Active as a conductor of choral, orchestral, and operatic repertoire, Michael Slon is currently Conductor of the University Singers, Chamber Singers, and a professor on the music faculty at the University of Virginia, where he also guest conducts the Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia. He also serves as the Music Director of the Oratorio Society of Virginia.

Old Cabell Hall is located on the south end of UVA's historic lawn, directly opposite the Rotunda.  (map) Parking is available in the central grounds parking garage on Emmet Street, in the C1 parking lot off McCormick Rd, and in the parking lots at the UVA Corner.  Handicap parking is available in the small parking lot adjacent to Bryan Hall.

All programs are subject to change.