The Hugh Hodgson School of Music presents the UGA Choral Showcase Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. in Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall.
Tickets are $10, $5 for students with a UGA ID. They can be purchased by phone at 706-542-4400 or online at pac.uga.edu.
“It’s a rare thing to have so many ensembles in one concert,” said Daniel Bara, director of choral activities. “Not only does it give the audience an entertaining mix of what we do, but it also provides the students in the ensembles with a chance to showcase to their peers what they are working on as well.”
The University Chorus, UGA’s largest mixed choral ensemble, will open the performance under the direction of graduate choral conducting student Joy Meade, followed by the Men’s and Women’s Glee Clubs under the baton of professor J.D. Burnett.
“We wanted the concert to open with pieces focusing on the wonders of music,” Bara said. “The University Chorus is performing a selection from Handel’s Solomon titled ‘Music Spread Thy Voice Around,’ while Vaughan Williams’ ‘Serenade to Music’ features an adaptation of Shakespeare’s text about music from Act V of Merchant of Venice. It was a happy coincidence that J.D. chose Vaughan Williams’ ‘In Windsor Forest’ for the glee clubs.”
The Hodgson Singers will conclude the concert under Bara’s direction with selections drawn from their March performance at the American Choral Directors Association Southern Division Conference in Jacksonville, Fla.
“The Hodgson Singers have been focusing quite a bit on this repertoire because not only does it comprise the ACDA performance, but it’s also the music we’ll be taking on our European tour this summer,” Bara said. “We’ll perform those pieces in Prague, Vienna and Salzburg, as well as present them at the International Choral Competition Ave Verum in Baden, Austria.”
