UTC Music Dept presents the UTC Master Chorale

Kevin Ford, Director
Friday, June 19, 2009, 7:30 PM
Second Presbyterian Church
Press Release date: 6/01/09

On Friday, June 19, 2009 at 7:30 PM the UTC Music Department presents the UTC Master Chorale directed by Dr. Kevin Ford. The concert will be held in the Second Presbyterian Church (700 Pine St., Chattanooga, 37402) and is open to the general public free of charge.

The Master Chorale program focuses on recent Northern European choral compositions and folk songs. Composers represented are Arvo Pärt, Vytautas Miškinis, Egil Hovland, Henryk Górecki, Zdenek Lukáš, László Halmos, and the feature work is Joseph Rheinberger’s wonderful setting of the “Stabat Mater”. Folk song settings of James Erb, Steven Paulus, Katherine Davis and Philip Wilby will close the concert.

The Master Chorale is directed by Dr. Kevin Ford, Director of Choral Activities at UTC. The accompanist is David Friberg. Dr. Ford will be assisted in the concert by three graduate students who will each conduct a piece: Varanda Bell, Maria Mathis, and Kim Pringle.

Membership in the UTC Master Chorale include members of the Chattanooga Bach Choir, Chattanooga Choral Arts, the Chattanooga Symphony Chorus and many area church choirs along with UTC and Cadek Conservatory faculty and students. The mixture of the younger singers with more mature voices produces an ensemble with power that is capable of performing works that might not be as feasible with only younger voices. The chorus focuses on one major work with organ and other smaller works depending on the year. They rehearse for a period of about six weeks each summer and then give a public performance as the culminating event.

The UTC Master Chorale began in the summer term of 2004 with the idea to combine UTC undergraduate and graduate students with active non-university singers in the Chattanooga area community. This chorus provides an ensemble for the teachers enrolled in the Masters in Music degree program at UTC who often find it difficult to participate in an ensemble during the fall and spring terms. It also gives Chattanooga area singers an advanced ensemble to participate in during the summer months when most of the civic choruses are taking time off.

For further information contact the UTC Music Department at 423-425-4601 or visit our website at http://utc.edu/music.