Michael Slon, Conductor
Donald "Coach" Loach, Guest Conductor

The UVa University Singers celebrate their 50^th anniversary with a Gala Concert and Alumni Banquet on Saturday April 5, 2008.  The group is especially excited to welcome back alumni singers for the performance, at 3:30 pm in Old Cabell Hall.

The performance includes several special events, including the world premiere of a commission from American composer Stephen Paulus.  Hailed by The New Yorker as “a bright, fluent inventor with a ready lyric gift,” Mr. Paulus has written a new setting of Psalm 46 for the ensemble based on a translation by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.  In addition to the participation of alumni singers, the concert will also feature a guest appearance by long-time conductor of the group, Professor Don “Coach” Loach. 

The program for the gala concert includes Haydn’s Theresien Mass and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, with chamber orchestra and former UVa faculty member Mary Kathleen Ernst as piano soloist.  Vocal soloists will include UVa faculty member Amanda Balestrieri, New York mezzo Cherry Duke, Texas bass-baritone Blake Davidson, and tenor William Bennett, an alum of the University Singers.  The program will also include works by Rheinberger, Finzi, Hogan, and several UVa songs. 

Led by UVA faculty conductor Michael Slon, the University Singers is the premier mixed-voice 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 Paulus.  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. Recordings include a CD of Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, and recent highlights have included performances with CUSO, concerts and workshops with Bobby McFerrin and Meredith Monk, and performances for the UVA Capital Campaign Gala and President’s Convocation.

This Arts Enhancement Event is supported by the Provost's Office to increase the awareness of and support for the arts at the University of Virginia.

Tickets for the concert are $15/$5 students/$5 Arts$.  The Box Office is also handling the Gala Banquet tickets for University Singers Alumni and invited guests.  Free parking is available in the C1 lot off McCormick Rd.  Handicap parking is available in the small parking lot adjacent to Bryan Hall.  For more information please call (434) 924-3984 or visit www.virginia.edu/music/usingers

Abendlied - Josef Rheinberger
The University Singers