TCU Daily Skiff 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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