The University of Utah Singers

Auditions and Israel videos

2010-08-04T14:43:00.004-06:00

It's that time again: time to brush up your vocal skills and audition to become a member of the University of Utah Singers!

Auditions for the choir will be held on August 19, 20, and 23, with callback auditions on August 24. Call or visit the School of Music office (801-581-6762) to schedule an audition appointment.

You will need to come prepared with a vocal solo and ready to sightread and complete some vocal exercises. This year you will also need to come prepared to sing your voice part on two different choral pieces: the Argentine folk song "Arroz con Leche" and Morten Lauridsen's "Soneto de la Noche."

Detailed information is posted on our website. You can also download copies of the two required choral pieces there.

While you wait for the new year to begin, why not hop on over to our YouTube channel? We have begun posting videos from last year's Israel tour, with more on the way! And don't forget to join us on Facebook for all the latest news, as well as pictures and video!

Tour: Back to Jerusalem and home!

2010-05-30T05:04:00.006-06:00

As I write this, we are sitting/sleeping/eating/emailing in the Philadelphia airport, having finished the first leg of our trip home and awaiting the second. The last couple of days of our tour were a nice relaxing ending to a wonderful trip.

On Friday morning, we left Jericho, where we had spent the night, and headed back to Jerusalem. We spent some time at the Garden Tomb:

And at Gethsemane, where we sang together for the last time as the 2009-2010 University of Utah Singers.

I think I can safely speak for everyone in the choir when I say that we could not have possibly asked for a better ending.

After that, we went to Hezekiah's Tunnel. The tunnel was created long, long ago, around 700 BC, as a way to divert water to Jerusalem during a siege. Two teams of diggers started at opposite ends to make the tunnel, and met in the middle, which is quite a feat! Today, you can take a tour of the tunnel. You wade through cold, fresh water that, depending on your height, can rise to your mid-thigh, and walk through narrow tunnels with low ceilings, that, also depending on your height, can sometimes cause you to have to stoop quite low. It's pitch black, so you need some kind of light (our group used a variety of lighting instruments, including iphone apps, cameras, head lamps, and actual flashlights), and if you are claustrophobic at all, it is certainly not for you.

We loved it!

On Saturday, we had a free day (I know many people went back to the Old City of Jerusalem) until our final choir dinner, and then we headed to Ben Gurion airport for our 11:55 PM flight.

It was the trip of a lifetime and one I'm sure none of us will ever forget! Thanks again to everyone who made it possible or had a hand in it in any way. We are very much indebted to you! Thank you!

Tour: Ancient places and Ein Gedi

2010-05-28T00:01:00.008-06:00

Yesterday was quite a full, hot, hot, hot day. We started off fairly early on a bus ride to the West Bank, where we drove through the Judean wilderness (and it is quite a wilderness) and stopped in Jericho. Here, we found the Spring of Elisha.

After drinking upstream of some goats and some native children playing in the water, we hopped back on the bus and made our way to Qumran.

This is where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. I can't imagine finding them after wandering through a desert like that one. It's ridiculously hot. Here is a photo illustration of what I mean:

Next up, we traveled to Masada, where around 950 Jewish zealots were besieged by Romans for three years. The Romans wanted to take the Jewish people as slaves, but the Jewish people would have none of it. In a tragic turn of events, as the Romans breached their fortress, all of the residents of Masada killed themselves rather than become slaves.

When we finished at Masada, we headed to the Dead Sea. Many choir members had a great time being unable to sink!

Finally, we arrived at the Ein Gedi kibbutz, where the wonderful people who live and work there fed us a fantastic meal and showed us to the concert hall for our sound check.

Our last concert was lighthearted and fun, despite all of us feeling a little sad that the whole thing has come to an end. It's been a fantastic ride!

We'll do a little more touring of the country today and tomorrow, and then we're home on Sunday. The entire choir would like to express are most sincere gratitude to everyone who has helped us and supported us through the trip, including President Young, our families, all of our audiences, and most especially Olivia Dakkak and Maya Shavit. We couldn't have done it without you!

Tour: More Jerusalem

2010-05-26T15:08:00.009-06:00

Today was wonderful for all of us! We spent about seven hours wandering around the Old City of Jerusalem. The first stop was the Dome of the Rock.

We also saw the Church of the Holy Sepulchre:

The Wailing Wall:

And so many other things! It was very hot and we were very tired, but it was also really great!

Eventually, we ended up at the BYU Jerusalem Center. It is a very beautiful facility and the views of the city are stunning.

The Jerusalem Center was very kind in hosting us. They gave us a tour, let us hear the organ, and fed us. The students there were also nice. (Healing a rivalry one concert at a time!) Our concert in the hall there was completely full and, as we have enjoyed this entire tour, spectacularly well received. All of us had a fantastic time and would like to express our sincere thanks to the people of the BYU Jerusalem Center for their hospitality.

As the tour winds to an end, we'll have our last concert tomorrow in Ein Geddi. If you've missed us so far but you'll be in the area, we hope to see you there!

Tour: Bell Caves and Jerusalem

2010-05-25T15:26:00.008-06:00

We have had a busy couple of days!

On Monday, we got to visit some of the caves in Israel. There are some areas that are completely dotted with caves that are quite old. People used them as cisterns, marketplaces, raised pigeons for food...they just kept digging and digging into them so they got deeper and deeper. We got to explore one of them.

Afterwards, we had a concert in the Bell Caves (Govrin Caves). These are totally man-made caves that were used as limestone quarries. They are huge and a really, really fun place to sing!

I know I speak for everyone in the choir when I say this was a definite highlight of our tour so far. Simply incredible. Huge thanks to the choir that hosted us and our host families for the night! You are wonderful!

Today, we arrived in Jerusalem. What an amazing city! It is beautiful and the amount of history all around us is amazing us all.

We spent the morning/early afternoon sightseeing: the Church of the Nativity (in Bethlehem), Mount Zion, King David's Tomb. Not even scratching the surface! We also took some time to visit the Israeli museum, where we saw fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Yad Vashem, an incredibly moving holocaust memorial. It was a full day in many ways.

At about 7:30, we went to a theater in Jerusalem where the Israeli music festival was beginning. We sang for the crowd outside and then got to go in and attend a King's Singers concert! What wonderful luck for us! It was an unexpected but very welcome addition to our itinerary.

All in all, a very full, satisfying day. Tomorrow we will see more of Jerusalem, then tour the BYU Jerusalem Center, where we'll give a concert tomorrow night. Should be great! If you're in the area, we hope to see you there!

Tour: many, many places!

2010-05-23T09:24:00.012-06:00

Sorry there hasn't been an update for a few days! There has been no internet availability. So this will be a good catch up post.

As of our last post, we were in Emek Hefer. After a free day with our host families (many of us visited the beach and/or Cesarea---thank you VERY MUCH to our wonderful and generous hosts!), we had a concert there on Thursday night.

Again, the audience was fantastic and the hall was filled. The women of Singers got to sing a combined piece with the Efroni Choir, which was such a fun experience for us! Come visit us any time, girls! We'd love to sing with you again!

On Friday, we traveled to Kibbutz Bar'am, which is in the north of the country, and we took our time getting there, so we got to sightsee a little bit on our way. We stopped at the Mount of Beatitudes:

The Sea of Galilee:

The Church of the Apostles, which is a Greek Orthodox church, so we sang from the All-Night Vigil while we were there:

And several other places. Eventually, we ended up at Kibbutz Bar'am, where we had a concert.

The Bar'am audience was incredible. Literally filled to bursting! Every seat was filled, and every doorway, and every stairwell...people stood, willingly, for an hour and a half, and probably would have stood for an hour and a half more! I have never seen anything like it! It's incredible, and the entire choir is so thankful for the graciousness we have received as we've been here.

After our concert in Bar'am, we headed to Nazareth for the night, but just to sleep---the next morning, we were up bright and early to head back to Abu Gosh for our third festival performance. This performance was not originally scheduled and was not on the festival program. It was completely on-demand because our concerts had sold out so quickly. This one also sold out! People just can't get enough! I hate to keep using the word amazing, but it really is truly amazing. The Israeli people love music so much! It is such an honor to share it with them. We truly enjoyed our time at the festival! Thank you for inviting us!

When we finished at Abu Gosh and finally said goodbye to all the people asking us to come back next year, we drove back to Nazareth for our second concert of the day. This one was at the El Mutran church, and the acoustic there was divine.

A local church choir sang for us while we were there, which was a really great experience and fun for us to hear! It sure seemed like everyone enjoyed the concert. I know we all really enjoyed singing there!

That brings us to today, Sunday. Dr. Allred gave a workshop at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv for Israeli choral conductors and students, and we were his demonstration choir.

We sang bits of different pieces for them while Dr. Allred demonstrated things like different balances and tone colors. He also answered any questions the attendees had.

Those who attended really enjoyed learning from Dr. Allred, and I know many of the members of Singers who are studying music were excited to be visiting another music school in another part of the world!

After the workshop ended, we had some free time to explore Jaffa.

Tonight, we're taking it easy in our hotel, and tomorrow we head off to the Govrin Caves, also called the Bell Caves for another concert. We're looking forward to it!

A huge thanks to everyone who has helped us so far. We couldn't do it without you!

Tour: Abu Gosh (take 2) and Emek Hefer

2010-05-19T14:00:00.007-06:00

We had our second performance at the Abu Gosh Vocal Music Festival today, with some different repertoire from yesterday. Again, another standing-room-only house, with very wonderful audience members! I'd post some pictures of the concert if I had them, but since I don't, here's a candid of us before our warm-up today.

After the concert, we again were met with such gracious responses. People told us thank you for doing what we do. It is so wonderful to get that kind of reaction! We've also apparently formed quite a little following here. People are anxious to get our tour programs and find out where our next concerts are, because they want to come! We've had many people say things like, "See you on Saturday!" We have groupies!

After the concert, we said goodbye to this place:

And headed to Emek Hefer where we met up with the Efroni Choir, lead by Maya Shavit. They fed us and we socialized:

And then they sang for us. They were great!

After the meet-and-greet we were divvied out to our different host families throughout the region. Tomorrow we'll all have separate activities depending on what our host families decide they'd like to do, and then we'll meet up again at 6:30 for a concert in Emek-Hefer. Then we're off to Bar'am! See you there!

Tour: Abu Gosh Festival

2010-05-18T13:30:00.006-06:00

Today was our first day singing at the Abu Gosh festival. After a nice relaxing morning at our hotel…

…we headed over to the Kiryat Yearim Church (where we would perform later) to warm up. It is in a beautiful little area and the acoustics were great!

At 3:00, it was time for our concert. The house was packed. I mean PACKED. I mean it was probably some kind of fire hazard. Wow! We sang some of the classical repertoire that had been requested by the festival organizers---Bach, Allegri, Brahms---and Carol Ann Allred sang a set of Schubert lieder. All of it was received with incredible enthusiasm! After we finished the classics, we did a short set of American songs. Since they had requested nothing but classical music, we were a little nervous about how these pieces would be received. We didn’t need to be! They loved all of them! And the unison Euro-clap apparently extends to Israel! Who knew?

The concert went extremely well. Afterwards, many of us talked with the audience members. They were so gracious and kind. It is extremely gratifying to sing for such appreciative people. They told us that our audiences would only get bigger as our tour progressed because word would spread. Considering we started with a more-than-sold-out crowd, I can only imagine what’s in store!

Tomorrow we have another festival performance (with different classical repertoire) and then we head off to Nazareth for a day. Israel, here we come!

Tour: Flight and Abu Gosh

2010-05-18T13:24:00.004-06:00

Well, we made it to Israel! It took us a while (we left on Sunday the 16th and arrived on Monday the 17th), but we’re all here---and so’s all our stuff, minus one box of programs that is hopefully on its way. And we’re all relatively unscathed, none the worse for wear for our 16 hours in the air!

We started off dark and early at 5:00 AM in Salt Lake City. Despite the early hour, we were happy to be there.

From there, we flew to Phoenix, where we quickly changed planes and headed off to Philadelphia. We had about a four hour layover so we wandered the airport in search of food. (US Air definitely wins on amount of leg room in coach, but totally fails in the area of sustenance.) And what else do you want to eat in Philadelphia besides a cheesesteak? Luckily, after walking by the life-size Lego replica of the Liberty Bell, many of us found the one and only cheesesteak dispensary in the airport. Happiness.

Eventually, after a few laps around the airport, some napping, some games, and some ice cream, we boarded our final flight to Tel Aviv. Ten hours, many movies, and (hopefully) lots of sleep later, we touched down in Israel! And there was much rejoicing! No, really---some people (not choir members---we were all still mostly asleep, I think) actually applauded when we landed. Long flights’ll do that to you.

We’ve checked into our hotel here in Abu Gosh, where we’ll spend the next couple of days performing at the Abu Gosh Vocal Music Festival. Originally, we were only supposed to give two concerts here, but they were selling out so quickly that the organizers asked us if we could add a third. How could we say no? So we’ll be back on Saturday for a third festival performance.

It’s exciting to be here in Israel and being invited to perform at this festival is a huge honor for us. Many Singers were talking to people on the plane who are very excited for us to be here. They are confident of a very warm reception for us. The Israeli people apparently love music very much! It should be a great experience for us too!

Bon Voyage!

2010-05-09T10:43:00.005-06:00

Here we go again! We're leaving for our two week concert tour of Israel on May 16, but you have one more chance to hear us before we go! Don't miss our concert this Monday, May 10! You'll hear a mix of all the programs we'll be singing in Israel, including works by classic composers such as Bach, Brahms, Mahler, and more, plus spirituals and contemporary works. Be there!

After we're gone (and even after we return!), make sure you still keep up with us through this blog, our YouTube page, and on Facebook.

See you tomorrow night!

Favorite Piece

2010-04-01T21:21:00.003-06:00

The University of Utah Singers are being featured this month on Musica International's "Favorite Piece" feature. Musica International is a worldwide online database that acts as a sort of library for choral repertoire. Every month, they choose a piece to feature and include links to recordings and video performances of the work, if available.

This month's piece is "Peace Like a River," arranged by Ronald Staheli, which was one of our very favorite songs from the 2008-2009 season. Check out this link to learn about the piece and to hear a recording and see a video of our performance from last year's Marktoberdorf competition.

Do you have a favorite piece that the Singers have done, or that you have heard elsewhere or performed yourself? Let us know! Leave a comment.

Mini-tour: ACDA, Phoenix, and home again

2010-03-07T21:53:00.007-07:00

Well, we made it back! Which means now I can post pictures, so let me start again from the beginning.

First, Cedar City. We enjoyed a wonderful meal:

We sang a fantastic concert (this is the end of "A Drop in the Ocean"):

And celebrated a bit afterwards:

The next day, Thursday, we arrived in Las Vegas, and very much enjoyed ourselves there:

On Friday, we made the trek to Tucson. We rehearsed for a little while in our hotel:

Then enjoyed a concert by Chanticleer, followed immediately by our sound check for our performance the next morning. Saturday's performance went wonderfully, and after a short lunch break we hopped on the bus again and arrived in Phoenix, where we met with Don Morse and performed at Central United Methodist Church. We loved singing there, and the concert was fantastic!

We were again hosted by many wonderful families in the Phoenix area, and this morning we boarded the bus and started the long drive home. We arrived safely and full of great mini-tour memories!

We'd like to thank everyone who hosted us, fed us, took us into their homes, loaned us space to rehearse and perform in, advertised for us, listened to us, transported us, and everything in between. We couldn't have done it without you, and we're so glad we could share what we do with you! Thank you!

Mini-tour: Cedar City, Las Vegas, and more! Oh my!

2010-03-05T18:37:00.002-07:00

We've had an eventful couple of days! We just arrived in Tuscon not a half hour ago, but riding a bus for a really long time is not the only thing we've been doing.

On Wednesday, we left the University at about noon and traveled to Cedar City, where we were hosted by Jackie Jackson's women's choir. They provided a fantastic meal for us, and then we performed in the Heritage Theater.

The concert went really well and was a great first tour concert for us! Wonderful prep for ACDA.

We stayed with fantastic host families on Wednesday night (thank you!!), then loaded the bus bright and early on Thursday morning to head to Las Vegas. After a fantastic lunch spearheaded by Marsha Borovicka, we met with the Las Vegas High School Concert Choir and Madrigals, under the direction of Janet Tyler. We had a great time clinicing with them and then performing in their theater.

After another wonderful concert, we had another great night with host families, and then took off this morning to head to Tucson. It was a long bus ride, but we made it safely! And not to make anyone at home feel bad, but we aren't missing the snow!

Tonight we're planning on rehearsing our ACDA program and then we get to go hear a concert by Chanticleer! We're very excited. Tomorrow, we perform for ACDA at 10:45---if you're at the convention, stop on by---and then we head to Phoenix.

We'd like to thank everyone for their hospitality so far. I would love to post pictures, but the internet here in the hotel is reminding me very much of the internet all over Europe; i.e., it doesn't work very well. :) I promise to post some pictures from the trip when we get home!

Mini-tour: Bon Voyage!

2010-03-02T22:23:00.002-07:00

Tomorrow morning the University Singers leave for a mini-tour of Southern Utah, Nevada, and Arizona on our way to perform for the Western Division Conference of the American Choral Directors Association. We're very excited to have this honor and are really looking forward to the experience!

If time allows, we'll try to keep the blog updated with some photos and stories of what we're doing. In the meantime, here's a quick list of where we'll be, so if you're in the area you can come by and hear us!

Wednesday, March 3: Cedar City
Heritage Center Theatre
105 North 100 East
7:30 PM

Thursday, March 4: Las Vegas
Las Vegas High School
6500 East Sahara Avenue
7:00 PM

Saturday, March 6: Tucson
St. Augustine Cathedral---CONVENTION PERFORMANCE!
192 South Stone Avenue
9:45 AM

Saturday, March 6: Phoenix
Central United Methodist Church
1875 North Central Avenue
7:00 PM

Hope to see you there!

Top Ten Best!

2010-01-11T14:07:00.003-07:00

In a recent article by Ed Reichel in the Deseret News, the University Singers were listed as presenting two of the top ten best cultural events for the year 2009!

From the article:

"The outgoing year was filled with some wonderful concerts and events. Below is a list of the 10 best, in chronological order."

"University of Utah Singers: Their performance under director Brady Allred of Tan Dun's mystical and magical Water Passion was simply incredible."

"University of Utah Singers: With Brady Allred, the ensemble took first prize at the prestigious International Chamber Choir Competition in Marktoberdorf, Germany."

Hopefully, you were able to attend the Water Passion and follow us on our tour through our blog and our YouTube videos. If not, look what you've been missing! Who knows what 2010 will hold---make sure to keep up!

New video, new CD, new concert

2009-11-12T20:00:00.003-07:00

Don't miss our newest featured video on our facebook page! This performance of Robert Cundick's "Behold, This Is the Way" is from our most recent tour and is only available on facebook!

A recording of this performance, along with many other wonderful pieces, will be available on our newest CD release, Alleluia.

This CD of mostly pre-released songs suitable for Sunday use will be available soon!

Also, be sure to get your tickets for the 2009 School of Music Scholarship Concert! This concert, on November 20 and 21, will feature the combined choirs and Philharmonic orchestra on the Poulenc "Gloria," Rutter "Gloria," and the Borodin "Polovtsian Dances." Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for general admission. The concert starts at 7:30. Don't miss it!

Double, Double Toil and Trouble!

2009-10-27T09:10:00.003-06:00

We have a concert this Friday at 7:30, combined with the A Cappella Choir. In keeping with the season, there will be a few spooky songs on the program, along with our more standard fare. It's sure to be great, so don't miss it!

Tickets are $3 for students, $7 for general, and available from any choir member or at the door. If you buy tickets at the door, be aware that you will be charged an extra service fee.

For more information, visit our homepage!

See you there!

We're going to Israel!

2009-10-14T21:33:00.002-06:00

The University of Utah Singers are pleased to announce that they will be traveling to Israel in May 2010.

This comes as a result of being invited to headline at the Abu Gosh festival. You can read more about it here. This is one of the most important festivals in the country, and it is quite an honor for us to be invited!

While we are there, we will also be hosted by the Efroni Choir, directed by Maya Shavit, and the Moran Choir, directed by Naomi Faran.

This tour is being partially funded by generous donors to the University of Utah and the choir, but they can't do it alone and neither can the choir members! If you would like to help send us to Israel, visit this page to find out how to make a donation to the choir. Everything helps and is greatly appreciated!

We are very excited to go! Thank you for your support in the past and your continued support now. We will keep you updated as things continue to develop.

Choral Showcase videos and Facebook fan page

2009-09-24T22:54:00.000-06:00

The first concert of the 2009/2010 academic year, the Fall Choral Showcase, is over, and it went great. Here's what a few of the members of the choir have to say about it:

Blythe Enke (Soprano II): “There is no way to truly describe the feeling of performing with the Singers until you're right there, actually doing it... I wasn't prepared for the way I would feel when we walked onto the stage, I was so overcome with emotion that I felt like I wanted to laugh, cry, and be lifted up into the sky all at once... hallelujah!"

Anna Lucero (Alto II): "The music was absolutely phenomenal-I was going to die it was so beautiful!"

Paul Hill (Bass II): "I was really pleased with our performance and I received lots of positive feedback about it. I was told by one person that it was nice for him to hear a concert where everyone was in tune. My mom had tears in her eyes as we finished the Circle of Life and I knew we'd done something special.”

Were you there? Tell us what you thought! Leave a comment.

Miss the concert? Join the University of Utah Singers Facebook fan page to not only keep up on all the latest news and announcements regarding the choir, but also to see videos from this and other performances! Currently, our featured video is Eric Whitacre's "Hope, Faith, Life, Love." More videos can also be viewed on our YouTube page.

Join today!

Choral Showcase coming soon!

2009-09-06T21:43:00.002-06:00

The first concert of the 2009-2010 season is just two weeks away: the Choral Showcase!

The concert features the Singers, the A Cappella Choir, and the Women's Choir and comes after all the choirs only being together for about 3 1/2 weeks. It's a crazy, adrenaline-filled few weeks, and the Showcase is the result! It's always a fun concert and gives a great preview of what wonderful things are going to come during the year.

It's Saturday, September 19, at 7:30 PM at Libby Gardner Concert Hall.

Tickets are $3 for students and $7 for general admission. They are available from any choir member, from the Kingsbury Hall box office, or from the box office at Libby Gardner Concert Hall the night of the concert.

Don't miss it!

Tour Videos

2009-08-17T23:17:00.004-06:00

Waiting that last month before the next University Singers concert? Why not fill the time with some videos from our European concert tour?

All of the videos from the competition laps of the Marktoberdorf competition are now available on our youtube channel. Videos from the rest of the festival, including the final concert and the prizewinners concert, are forthcoming.

In the meantime, we're also working on adding videos from our concerts throughout the tour. The first of these is Trond Kverno's "Ave Maris Stella" from our concert in the Knights' Hall of Brezice Castle, Slovenia. More videos like this will be coming soon! Keep watching!

Singers over the summer

2009-06-17T14:40:00.005-06:00

The school year is over and tour is finished, but that doesn't mean you can't still hear the Singers! Can't get enough of us? Here are a few ways to keep up with us over the summer.

New CD

Did you know we released a new CD? The Cloths of Heaven was released at our Bon Voyage concert the night before we left on tour.

Featuring repertoire from the Singers' 2007-2008 season, this is our ninth release. The CD includes Anton Bruckner's classic motet "Os justi meditabitur sapientiam," Eric Whitacre's beautiful "Five Hebrew Love Songs," and the world premiere of William Hawley's "The Cloths of Heaven," which was commissioned by the choir. Choral music fans will also find spirituals, gospel music, and sacred and secular music from all over the world.

You can buy it here. Don't worry: the order form will be updated soon! Sound samples will also be available soon here.

Competition Videos

Wish you could've heard us at competition? Now you can! Videos from our performances at Martkoberdorf are being uploaded onto our Youtube channel. There are currently six videos available with more to come!

iTunes

Don't forget that all of our live performances are available for free download on iTunes. You can also purchase our CDs from iTunes. Recordings from many of our tour performances and the competition are forthcoming---keep watching!

And of course, don't forget to keep up with us on facebook!

Tour: Results!

2009-06-03T04:05:00.002-06:00

You may have already heard. But I'm going to say it again.

WE WON!!!

Yes! That's right! The University of Utah Singers took first prize at the 11th International Chamber Choir Competition in Marktoberdorf! We couldn't possibly be more excited about it!

Here's a rundown of everything we won:

1st Prize in the Mixed Choir Category
3rd Prize in the Youth Choir Category
Special Prize for the best interpretation of a work premiered at the competition (Nancy Wertsch's "Hail Holy Light")

The anticipation yesterday was about killing us. We sat in the hall and held hands and clapped and cried and had so much nervous energy that I think we almost exploded. The whole hall was electric with it, with hundreds of singers awaiting the results of a whole lot of hard work.

When they called our name, we all leaped to our feet, jumped up and down, screamed, cried, hugged, clapped. It was an incredible feeling, and something we will never forget!

I know I speak for the whole choir when I say thank you to Dr. Allred, who made the whole thing possible. We would not be the choir we are without him. Thank you for teaching us the technical skills and drawing out the emotion. You make it possible for us to sing with our hearts. With you, we don't just sing, we make music. Thank you!

And personally, I want to thank the entire choir for being so wonderful during the year and especially this tour. It was fantastic!

And we won! WE WON!!

Tour: Marktoberdorf

2009-05-31T06:35:00.000-06:00

Today, Sunday, is the second day of competition at the 11th International Chamber Choir Competition in Marktoberdorf, Germany. We finished competing at around 1:00 this afternoon---and we finished with a bang!

We arrived on Friday and enjoyed a concert and some opening ceremonies. We got to meet all the other choirs. In total, there are 13 choirs competing: five in the youth choir category and eight in the mixed adult choir category. The Singers are entered in both categories, so some of us had to compete four times! There are choirs from all over. We’re the only group from the United States, but there are choirs from Argentina, Ireland, Slovenia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Norway, Germany, and possibly some place I’m forgetting.

It’s been very fun to hear all of these groups perform! They represent some of the best in the world and it’s an honor to be numbered among them.

Saturday was the first round. This round had to be between 20 and 25 minutes, and had to follow certain rules. For example, there was a compulsory piece that every choir had to perform, and every piece had to be sung acappella. It was interesting to hear all the different interpretations of the same music. The Singers’ mixed choir was the third to perform on Saturday morning. We all felt really good about how we performed. We sang a great mix of pieces, including Romantic era music, spirituals, and “Hail Holy Light,” our commissioned piece, and the audience seemed to really love it all. We sang with a lot of spirit, energy, and emotion, and were able to connect with each other and the listeners. Hopefully we connected with the jury, too!

Our youth choir performed first in the afternoon section, and they did a great job too. We have all learned so much wonderful music this year, and it is a remarkable thing to be able to get on that competition stage and just send it right out to everyone in the hall!

Today was round two, which is the free program. This program can only be 10 minutes long, and there are no rules about accompaniment and no compulsory pieces. The youth choir performed in the morning as the last in their category, and did a fantastic job! The mixed choir also got to go last and ended the entire competition. What an amazing opportunity!

We won’t get the results until Tuesday, but we all feel really good about what we did. And the truth is that no matter what the results are, we know we did our best, and we gave some incredible performances. We have come together in such a wonderful way, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we have accomplished. I think we all feel the same.

Of course, we DO want to win . . . we’ll see what happens!

Tour: Austria and Munich

2009-05-28T14:51:00.010-06:00

Today the University Singers are in Munich, recording in the Himmelfahrtskirche. But more on that in a moment. First, let me finish reporting on Slovenia the right way: with some pictures.

After Gorizia came Koper, a beautiful town on the Adriatic Sea. Everyone enjoyed walking along the coast and doing a little swimming during the day. That evening, we sang in the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

Special thanks to the University of Primorska Academic Choir who hosted us for this concert!

The next day, we headed toward Ljubljana but first stopped in the Postojna caves. I wish I had a picture to show you from these caves; they are incredibly vast and amazing. The guide told us they were at least three million years old! But they said no photos, unfortunately. At the end, there is a very large cave that they call a concert hall and we got to sing a couple of songs there. Other tour groups were so interested in us they asked us when and where our next concert was!

For those that were staying in the area, they were in luck, because our next concert was in St. Jacob's Church in Ljubljana. We enjoyed getting to meet with and hear Urska Fabijan's Mysterium choir. It was also fun to sing with them!

The concert with Mysterium ended our time in Ljubljana, and we were sad to go. As I mentioned before, we really enjoyed ourselves there! Thanks again to everyone for the hospitality.

After Slovenia, we headed to Austria where we stayed in Salzburg for a couple of days. Of course, we made sure to see all the Sound of Music sights.

We also got to sing in the Salzburg Cathedral.

After enjoying some time in Salzburg on our own, we headed to nearby Bergheim to sing for Mass in the Pfarrkirche, and then perform a joint concert with the Volklslied Choir in the Pfarrkirche. It was fun to trade songs back and forth with the choir, and then to sing with them at the end.

Far too soon, we boarded the bus and left Austria, and arrived here in Munich on Thursday morning. Our purpose here is to record in the Himmelfahrtskirche. Those of you familiar with our repertoire and/or recording history may know that our CD A Jubilant Song was recorded in this same church several years ago. It's fun to be back!

We'll record a little bit more tomorrow morning and then we're off to Marktoberdorf! The festival starts on Friday with a big opening concert gala, and the competition starts on Saturday. We'll compete on both Saturday and Sunday. If there's internet access, I'll be sure to keep you updated!

Tour: Good job, Slovenia!

2009-05-26T02:36:00.002-06:00

This is just a quick post as we leave Ljubljana and Slovenia as a whole. We all thoroughly enjoyed our time here. The food is good, the country is beautiful, and the people are so friendly, kind, hospitable, and appreciative. The choir as a whole cannot stop talking about how wonderful our time here has been, and we will never forget this experience!

Thank you very much to our hosting choirs! It was a pleasure meeting you and working with you. Good luck to all of you in the future!

Today we head off to Salzburg, where we will all endlessly sing from The Sound of Music and all of the operas by Mozart. And probably a few symphonies too. We aren't picky.

More pictures hopefully to come in the last leg of our tour. Marktoberdorf is just a few short days away...wish us luck!

Thanks again, Slovenia! We love you.

Tour: Slovenia

2009-05-24T15:35:00.007-06:00

I was going to post a video of us singing "Behold, This Is the Way" (by Robert Cundick) in the cathedral in Esztergom, but the internet connection in our way-high-up-in-the-mountains hostel here in Korte, Slovenia is a bit sketchy. After an hour of waiting for it to upload, I've decided sleep is more important. Hopefully I'll be able to post it later. Sorry!

Anyway, the last couple of days we've spent very close to the Slovenian border. On Saturday, we were in Gorizia, which is a city that spans both Slovenia and Italy. We spent the day on the Slovenian side, then gave a concert on the Italian side in the Kulturni Center.

The concert was great! When we sang our Slovenian folk songs, the audience went absolutely wild. One choir member commented that it was like we had just finished a rock concert. They leaped to their feet and cheered. All of us were surprised and extremely gratified by the reaction. I have never experienced anything quite like it!

Also, we loved Gorizia because they fed us really well. Ice water! Real honest to goodness ice water! Nearly unheard of! Air conditioning and ice water: things you should not ever take for granted.

After Gorizia, we traveled to Koper, which is a city on the coast of Slovenia by the Adriatic Sea. (Right across the bay is Venice, if that helps you find it on a map.) We sang in the beautiful Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

Again, the audience was just wonderful. Every time we sing, I am moved by their passion and interest in what we are doing. When you tour, you run the risk of getting tired of singing the same pieces time after time, even when you have a lot of repertoire to choose from. We all work very hard not to go on autopilot when we sing, but I think the audiences really do a lot to make each performance unique and fresh. I think I can speak for the whole choir when I say we really love our audiences!

Next up is Ljubljana, and then we say goodbye to Slovenia and head to Austria and Germany. Bavaria, here we come!

Tour: National Theatres and Knight's Halls

2009-05-22T15:16:00.007-06:00

As promised, here is a better update about Croatia. Varazdin is a beautiful little town and we were very excited to perform there. They seemed to be excited to have us, as there were posters of us all over the town!

We did spend a lot of time in rehearsal for the few days we stayed, but we were also privileged to meet with some government representatives while we were there. They told us some of the history of the town and made us feel quite welcome. They told us that Varazdin has a rich history of choral singing, and so everyone was very excited for our concert that night. The Croatian people are very friendly and warm! We all managed to squish into the reception room to meet with the representatives, and we even sang for them while we were there.

On Thursday, we performed in the concert hall of the Croatian National Theatre. The building was built in the late 19th century. It was really hot. I mean, really hot. But the audience was so receptive that the energy was just fantastic. It was a great concert despite the heat.

Today, we bid farewell to Croatia and came to Slovenia. We are staying for one night in the city of Brezice, where we performed tonight in the Knight's Hall of Brezice Castle. This hall is truly amazing. It took our breath away when we walked in. This picture, unfortunately, does not do it justice as the light in the evening was bad. But it is really beautiful with an amazing acoustic.

The concert tonight was really incredible. We got to sing Slovenian folk songs to Slovenians in their native tongue! I'm not sure how good our pronunciation was, but it was really fun to be able to sing to them in their own language, and they seemed to really enjoy it. I think we all felt really good about our performance tonight. Things just seem to be getting better and better!

Tomorrow we head to Italy to perform in Gorizia, and then we'll be back in Slovenia on Sunday. I'll do my best to update as much as possible!

Tour: Croatia

2009-05-20T05:55:00.002-06:00

No pictures today, sorry, but the computer setup is a little different here. In the meantime, we have arrived safely in Varazdin, Croatia, and have been enjoying a clinic with conductor Volker Hempfling. We are prepping for a concert tomorrow night in the Croatian National Theater here in this city, and things are going well. If any of you are in the area you should stop by the theater for a listen!

Check for more detailed updates soon!

Tour: The Last Days of Hungary

2009-05-18T14:18:00.007-06:00

We've spent the last couple of days in Budapest and its surrounding areas. Budapest is a massive city! And very beautiful. This, for example, is the parliament building. Amazing!

On Sunday morning, we sang mass in a church in downtown Budapest and made the priest cry (twice!). I can't get over how wonderful it is to share our music with all these people! After mass, we toured the city a little bit. Aside from all the mosquitos, everyone is really enjoying themselves.

We've been performing pretty much every day in all sorts of different venues, including a few impromptu numbers here and there, like when we sang with our gypsy band at dinner the other night. We're definitely being kept on our toes and I don't think we've ever sounded better as a group. We're all coming together in a way that is very special and unique to tour.

Today, Monday, we went to a little town called Esztergom to perform in a church there. On the way there, we stopped in the Esztergom cathedral, which is the third largest cathedral in Europe, falling behind only St. Paul's in London (2), and St. Peter's Basilica in Rome (1). We were ecstatic when our tour guide said we could sing there. Seven second reverb is pretty incredible.

Tomorrow we leave Hungary for Croatia and start some intensive rehearsal to really polish and get us ready for the Marktoberdorf competition. We've come a long way and we've got a lot further to go, and I'm excited for everything that waits ahead for us! Much more fun is coming!

Tour: Hungary

2009-05-16T15:09:00.007-06:00

Here we are in beautiful Pomaz, which is just outside of Budapest, Hungary. We're staying at the Choral Castle.

At the Choral Castle, there are performance halls, one of which we used last night. We drew a crowd to our concert and encored about a million times. We actually left the building and got called back in to encore again. It was a really wonderful experience, even if we were all exhausted after arriving at the Castle 2 hours behind schedule, lugging all our luggage up many, many flights of stairs, and changing clothes as fast as humanly possible. The audiences here are so incredibly appreciative! It is a joy to sing for them.

The Castle also has many rehearsal halls, one of which we utilized this morning. For part of our rehearsal, we got to work with Gyorgy Orban. We have learned two of his pieces this year and he workshopped with us a little bit. It was really fun and he is a very nice person!

We went to a nearby town called Szentendre for lunch and a small shopping excursion. The beautiful blue Danube runs right through this town. And of course they sell gelato. What could be more important? Not much.

We also went into Budapest itself for just a short time today. The view of the city from the citadel is breathtaking. We could all hardly believe what we were seeing. What an opportunity!

Finally, tonight we performed in the town of Telki to a standing-room-only crowd. People were jammed in every spare spot and even flooded out the door. We sang our hearts out to a wonderful crowd and had a great time. Telki is having their annual Spring Festival, and we got to go enjoy some local music and food afterwards. We work very hard, but we also play hard!

Hungary is great! The food is wonderful, the audiences are fantastic, the weather is beautiful, and the people are friendly. It's treating us well, and I think we're giving back in kind.

Tour: Goodbye, Prague!

2009-05-14T16:02:00.006-06:00

I think all the Singers will agree that Prague is a beautiful city. Everyone was very excited to have one more day than we'd originally planned here. On our first day, even though we were all so tired, we were still very happy about being here!

We took a walking tour through the city and got acquainted with some of the cultural history of the area. Part of the tour included the large cathedral in the center of town. It is so beautiful inside! We all wanted to sing there, but unfortunately it wasn't on our list of concert stops. Next time!

The walking tour included the famous Charles Bridge, which many of us returned to the next day on our own free time. The bridge is crowded with merchants and tourists and locals just going from one side of the Moldau River to the other. Yes, that's the Moldau, or the Vltava, as it is called here. The composer Smetana lived in Prague and wrote a whole piece about the country. The Moldau is the central movement of the work.

Our first concert of the tour was in a local church. The audience was very appreciative and we had a great time. It was a wonderful way to start the concert portion of our tour!

Today, Thursday, we drove to a nearby town called Nymburk to sing in a church there. The acoustics were amazing. We shared the concert with a local Czech choir and really enjoyed each other. There's nothing quite like singing liturgical music in a cathedral that's built for it.

We had a small reception with some representatives from the Ministry of Culture in Nymburk. Dr. Allred got the key to the city! Okay, not really, but he did get some very thoughtful and beautiful gifts. We felt very welcome in the area and were happy to be there.

Tonight is our last night in Prague, and tomorrow we move on to Hungary. We've enjoyed it here, and we look forward to what's ahead!

Tour: The Beginning

2009-05-13T07:29:00.003-06:00

The University Singers are in Prague!

On Monday, May 11, we all arrived at the airport and traveled to Atlanta and then to Prague. Everyone was very excited to go!

When we arrived in the city on Tuesday, we took a walking tour and had a whirlwind history lesson. I hate to admit it but I think I only heard about 10% of what our tour guide said. Jet lag is brutal!

Today we all went our separate ways and saw the sights---the Opera House, the Charles Bridge, the Jewish Quarter, Old Town...there's so much to take in! Tonight we'll sing our first concert on our tour. The first of many!

More pictures to come! The internet in our hotel is a little shady and it's making it difficult to post. There will be more, though, so keep checking back!

Water Passion Reviews

2009-04-22T08:14:00.003-06:00

The reviews are in! And they are stellar. Here's just a small taste of what people have to say about the Water Passion:

"I can't quite believe what I heard tonight. It was so touching and beautiful. Thank you for giving this wonderful gift of a concert to us." --Karen Taylor, audience member

"Brady Allred presented the work with the University of Utah Singers and A Cappella Choir on Friday night in the Libby Gardner Concert Hall. To say that the work was fascinating merely scratches the surface. . . . There is no preparation in Western culture for the moving experience that awaits the listener during the chilling betrayal scene or the serenity of the concluding moments. At first uncomfortable, the music eventually permeates the being and leads to an ultimately moving experience." --The Salt Lake Tribune

"I want to thank you again for the AMAZING performance of Tan Dun's Water Passion this weekend. I thought about it - and am still - the rest of the weekend and told as many people as I could to go on Saturday night. Ken and I just marveled at the quality of the production and felt incredibly fortunate to have been in the audience. Our daughter Ruby told us this had been the most memorable performance of her life and we could certainly see why. Thank you, thank you, and the School of Music for one of the most compelling, captivating, and beautiful musical events I have ever seen/heard. This was fabulous!" --Donna White, audience member and Chair of the UU Department of Modern Dance

"And hypnotic is exactly what "Water Passion" is. Tan uses quite simple means to capture the emotional impact the story of Christ's crucifixion has. A violin, cello, synthesizer and three sets of percussion join a large chorus in bringing this story to life. Of course, the work needs the right conductor to invigorate the music and capture its soul. And Allred did just that. With his perceptive direction he made Tan's 'Water Passion' speak to the audience. The listener felt the tenderness of Jesus, the anger of the mob and the horror of Christ's death on the cross. Allred's interpretative talents were put to the test with this work, and he passed with flying colors." --Deseret News

"My wife and I attended the performance of this work last week and wanted to thank you so much for bringing it to our community. We were both overwhelmed with it. I have seen many many concerts, by some of the world's finest and most famous musicians; however, the Water Passion concert you orchestrated was the best musical performance I've ever witnessed. Thank you and all the performers for their hard work and discipline, and thank you for bringing such a fascinating work to SLC. With the exception of Mahler's 2nd, I don't think I've heard a more compelling work on the life of Christ. But as great as the music is, it wouldn't have been half as interesting without the passion, enthusiasm and excellence you paired with it. Thank you once again and keep up the good work, what you do is a treasure to our city." --Eric Wadley, audience member

What did you think? Tell us! Leave a comment.

The U of U Singers and "Hail Holy Light"

2009-03-24T17:27:00.010-06:00

Brady Allred and Nancy Wertsch

The University of Utah Singers tend to attract cutting edge composers of the day, and this season has been no exception.

Recently, we premiered a piece by New York composer Nancy Wertsch, "Hail Holy Light." The work is a double choir piece set in Latin and in English, and boy is it lovely.

What does "double choir" mean? The usual 47 of us were divided up into two groups of 23.5 (bless the poor Soprano who had to split in half) and we sing practically facing each other with Dr. Allred conducting in between the two choirs.

As a result, the audience experiences an etherial "in-stereo" sound that really brings this piece to life. Cool!

One of the choir's great friends, Dave R. with the help of Kelly N. assembled a spectacular "mini-documentary" about the work. Have a few minutes? Check it out.

As a member of the choir, I'll say that this piece was not easy to learn. However, with some diligence and a lot of rehearsal, it found its way into my heart and into the hearts of the Singers as a group.

So what did the audience think? Here's what they said:

"I love the lush, fluid choral sound that comes from [your] ensemble. My soul was filled up tonight."

"You guys have another sound: uninhibited and disciplined."

"The [song] was great. The quality of music was awesome."

Great feedback! Thanks to the audience members who stayed a minute to chat with us.

Now before I go memorize more music, I must insist that you DO NOT MISS Tan Dun's Water Passion (After St. Matthew) coming up April 10th and 11th at Libby Gardner Hall.

Tan Dun knows his stuff (he did win a Grammy) and this show is sure to be out of this world.

More info to come!

Can't wait? Visit http://singers.utah.edu

Have something to add? Leave a comment!

U of U Singers on iTunes U

2009-03-09T17:57:00.003-06:00

Have you ever wanted access to more of the U of U Singers than you ever thought possible?

Are you feeling down that you missed our last concert? (Which was awesome, by the way.)

Are you a poor college student and can't afford our killer CD's?

Well have we got news for you...

The University of Utah Singers are now an official fixture on iTunes U, making ALL of our repertoire and ALL of our live recordings available for U!

As of today we've uploaded all of our live recordings from the '08-'09 academic year, but soon enough our magic recording guru Dan will have everything the UUS and a lot of the other great ensembles at the U have EVER done since concert #1 in September of '03. WOW.

Remember the beautiful beast that was Belshazzar's Feast? The awesomeness of Monteverdi's Vespers? Want to hear what we were up to on our last European tour?

You can! Visit us at iTunes U and see what we're talking about!

Want more info? Visit http://singers.utah.edu or shoot us an email at universityofutahsingers@gmail.com

Does this tickle your fancy?

Does this tick you off?

Let us know... Comment!

U of U CFAC 60th Anniversary, Bobby McFerrin

2009-03-09T17:29:00.000-06:00

Looking for a reason to celebrate? How about the University of Utah College of Fine Arts' 60th anniversary!

Following a whole week of events (beginning with the exhilarating Bobby McFerrin workshop/concert), this weekend the U of U Singers will join other Fine Arts students at the University of Utah in a celebratory concert Saturday night at Kingsbury Hall. Including music, theater, and dance performances, this concert should be a great time.

Here are the details:

Friday, March 13 -- 8:00 PM -- Kingsbury Hall

Tickets are $30 General, $20 Staff/Faculty, and $10 Students

They can be purchased at www.kingsburyhall.org or at 801-581-7100

On that note, the Bobby McFerrin workshop/concert was a BLAST! In addition to the other vocal students at the U, the U of U Singers all attended a workshop with Mr. McFerrin where we got to hear him speak his genius mind on music, life, and what it means to be an artist.

(Oh, and we heard his amazing singing, too!)

I must say, for me the true highlight was when two of UUS's very own members were able to get up and jam with the legendary artist!

Did you attend the workshop?

Are you a fan of Bobby McFerrin and want to gush?

Have something else to say that's completely off topic??

Feel free to comment!

Want more information? Visit http://singers.utah.edu

University of Utah Singers

2008-09-10T16:34:00.001-06:00

The University of Utah Singers, an ensemble of approximately 45 voices organized in 2003, has won international acclaim through convention performances, concert tours, and participation in prestigious festivals and competitions. In 2006, they won the European Grand Prix International Choir Competition in Tolosa, Spain, in which they competed as a result of winning the Grand Prize at the 2005 Florilège Vocal de Tours International Choir Competition in Tours, France. Most recently, they toured to France by invitation to perform at three different festivals, and were featured on French national television at the Nancy International Choir Festival.

In addition to their international appearances, the Singers have been featured locally at state events, such as the inauguration of Governor Olene Walker and the 2004 opening session of the Utah State Senate. They also collaborate regularly with other Utah-based groups, including the 23rd Army Band, the Salt Lake Choral Artists, Brigham Young University Singers and Concert Choir, and the University of Utah Philharmonia, Wind Ensemble, A Cappella Choir, and Women’s Choir. They have performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, the Assembly Hall on Temple Square, and the Cathedral of the Madeleine, and at division and national conventions for the American Choral Directors Association and the Music Educators National Conference.

The Singers have premiered several new works, including William Hawley’s “Flos ut rosa Floruit,” for which they received a prize for the best new work at the Tours competition. In 2007, they were selected by the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition to premiere Judith Bingham’s “Ghost Towns of the American West” as part of an international performing consortium of choirs which included Vocal Essence and the BBC Singers.

The choir performs at Libby Gardner Concert Hall several times a year and much of their repertoire has been recorded on CD, including the double CD set If Music be the Food of Love, which features their 2006 and 2007 tour programs. They have also released a CD of American folk music, titled Home on the Range, two Christmas albums, and several other CDs with works ranging from the Renaissance to Broadway. For more information, please visit their website at www.uofusingers.org.