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Friday,
April 16, 2004 |
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TCU
Chorale members prepare to tour Midwest
Beginning
May 9, members of the Concert Chorale and Symphony Orchestra
will perform in four major Midwestern cities.
By
Lauren Lea
The
School of Music is preparing to send 130 students on a
weeklong tour of the Midwest.
The concert chorale is a 54-voice touring organization
that is ranked as one of the top three collegiate programs
in Texas. Ronald Shirey, director of choral studies, said
they have performed at numerous national conventions for
very prestigious audiences.
The program is a centerpiece in the music department and
is nationally recognized for its quality, said Richard
Gipson, chairman of the music department.
The chorale has performed at seven Texas Music Educators
Association conventions, and singing for TMEA is a prime
opportunity because it is a good recruiting tool, Shirey
said. In order to be chosen to perform at TMEA, directors
send in tapes for a blind audition, which is competitive,
Shirey said.
“You’ve reached a certain zenith when you perform
there,” Shirey said. “We’re known for excellence.”
The chorale has performed at Carnegie Hall four times,
most recently at Christmas in 2003. The performances were
broadcast on the New York Times’ classical radio
station on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Gipson was thrilled to attend the performance, he said.
“I went expecting to hear them in a supporting role
to the professional orchestra but they were actually the
focus of the evening,” Gipson said. “Their repertoire
and the manner in which they performed truly distinguished
themselves and TCU.”
One of the concert chorale’s greatest performances
was “Requiem,” by Maurice Durufle, Shirey said.
“I was particularly moved,” he said. “It’s
one of the most aesthetic pieces we have performed. It
was one of the best things we’ve done in my 28 years
here.”
The performance was recorded onto a CD which has become
extremely popular. Amy Allibon, choral director at Haltom
High School and a former TCU chorale member, dubbed copies
of the original CD for the chorale members and she said
the performance was stunning.
“The work calls for the mastery of both the powerful
yet hauntingly ethereal,” Allibon said. “I believe
this performance captured the essence of the work.”
The program is a success largely because of Shirey, Gipson
said. |
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