Jazz choir fall concert

The Arkansas State University Singers and vocal jazz/contemporary a cappella ensembles will present their fall concert, Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m. in Fowler Center’s Riceland Hall. The concert will be a step along the way toward the choirs’ performance tour of Spain in 2014. 

The University Singers are divided into the Men’s and Women’s Choirs, and will be joined by two A-State vocal jazz/contemporary a cappella ensembles, Delta Vox and stAte Vox.

The groups are made up of ASU students who auditioned for placement into the choirs. Each of the choir ensembles may be taken for credit or non-credit, and students from all majors at Arkansas State are encouraged and eligible to audition at the beginning of each fall and spring semester.

Admission to the concert is free; however, donations to the ASU Choral Performance Fund, to help support a trip to Spain in 2014, will be accepted. The singers will travel to Barcelona, Valencia, and Madrid for cultural, musical, and historical enrichment. In addition to current choir members, the university/community choir again will participate.

“Arkansas State University recognizes the educational value of travel for our students. Is there a better way to begin to understand the people of other countries and cultures than to study their history through music, art, and important historical sites, and visit with them face-to-face?” commented Dr. Dale Miller, director of choral activities at A-State.

“Since 2000, ASU choir students have been fortunate to travel to Poland, Czech Republic, and Italy and perform the music of our country and theirs, as well as perform with some of New York’s finest professional musicians in Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Donations to the ASU Choral Performance Fund have helped to make this possible for many students who otherwise might never have this chance.”

Dr. Miller conducts the University Singers Men’s and Women’s Choirs. Dr. Kyle Chandler, music education coordinator and assistant director of choral activities since 2009, directs Delta Vox and stAte Vox.

Graduate choral conducting major Shannon O’Connor will direct the Men’s Choir in Felix Mendelssohn’s “Love and Wine,” and the Women’s Choir in Tomas Luis de Victoria’s “Duo Seraphim.” John Phillians of Wynne, a sophomore music major, will sing the baritone solo in the Mendelssohn piece.

Collaborative pianists for the evening will include Chandler, music graduate student RuJie Wang of China, and sophomore music major William Kazyak of Manila.

In addition to the Mendelssohn work, the Men’s Choir will present a variety of musical selections with the following repertoire under Dr. Miller’s direction: “Praise to the Lord” arranged by Barry Talley; “The Mansions of the Lord,” from the movie “We Were Soldiers,” arranged by Ashley Irwin, with trumpet solo by Adonias Finch, junior music education major from Dyer, Tenn.; a novelty setting of “O Susannah,” arranged for two pianists and male chorus by Jonathan Crutchfield; “My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord” by Moses Hogan; and two barbershop selections, “I Never Knew,” revised by Paul Whitman, and “Yes, Sir, That’s My Baby,” arranged by Dr. Val Hicks.

Miller will lead the Women’s Choir in “Lord at All Times” by Mendelssohn; Eric Whitacre’s “Seal Lullaby”; “Riversong” arranged by Roger Emerson; pop singer Adele’s ballad “Someone Like You,” arranged by Mac Huff; and a pair of women’s “beauty shop” harmony selections, “Consider Yourself at Home,” arranged by Dot Calvin, and “Rock Around the Clock,” arranged by Norma Anderson. Soloists in “Someone Like You” are Alyssa Smith of Newport, a freshman music major, and Morgan Langley of White Hall, a junior music major.

Under Dr. Chandler’s artistic direction, Delta Vox, which was formed in the spring 2010, will create an on-stage vocal improvisation, perform a jazz ballad version of “You Are So Beautiful,” and share their own rendition of Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine’s “Rhythm is Gonna Get You.”

Created this fall, stAte Vox, with guests from Delta Vox, will present Sinatra’s hit version of “Fly Me to the Moon,” Richard Marx’s “Right Here Waiting,” and conclude with Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long,” adapted for the NBC television series, The Sing-Off.

Personnel for the University Singers Women’s Choir are: section leader Emily Garren of Minneapolis, Minn., Jesse Holder of Advance, Mo., Lizzie Kalkbrenner of White Hall, Inez Whitt of Pine Bluff, and Sarah Burnett, Mallory Gipson, Jennifer Hannah, and Jewell Mitchell, all of Jonesboro, first sopranos; section leader Morgan Langley of White Hall, Victoria Childress of Little Rock, Suemone Christian of Bryant, Madison Creekmore of Harrisburg, Nichole Dennis of Springfield, Mo., KayLa Edwards of White Hall, Cathryn Hammack of Bradley, and Alyssa Smith of Newport, second sopranos; section leader Michelle Byrd of Pine Bluff, Katie Aus of Gosnell, Harmony Cagle of Rector, Krystal Carr of Holcomb, Mo., Elizabeth Dryer of Jonesboro; Kate Kim of South Korea, Loren Snook of Bradford, Mercedes Webb of Dexter, Mo., and Sarah Woodson of Harrisburg, first altos; and section leader and graduate assistant Shannon O’Connor of Potomac, Md., Megan Carter of Gosnell, Meagan Hamilton of Wynne, Kaleena Mann of Hot Springs, and Victoria Dryer, Abbie Price, and Sloane Simmons, all of Jonesboro, second altos.

The Men’s Choir includes section leader and graduate assistant Bill Weaver of Cabot, George Gatewood III and Courtney Hostler, both of Pine Bluff, Geoffrey Payne of Doniphan, Mo., Oscar Quiroz of Brookland, and Louis Aaron Simpson IV of Memphis, Tenn., first tenors; section leader Trevor Robinson of Sikeston, Mo., Cody Bard of Caraway, Matt Fischer of Jacksonville, Jordan Griffin of Sherwood, Nathan Hanselman of Hot Springs, Ben McClellan of Corning, Justin Roush of Jonesboro, and Alex Swenson of Poplar Bluff, Mo., second tenors; section leader Kale McDaniel of Jonesboro, Matt Crociata and Larry Heyl, both of Jonesboro, CJ Fortune of Bay, CJ Hoover of Bono, William Kazyak of Manila, Brian Randall of Lake City, Gregory Self of Williford, Matthew Stewart of White Hall, and Nate Jung, Kihwan Kim, and Henry Song, all of South Korea, baritones; choir president and section leader John Phillians of Wynne, Nathan Anderson of Sherwood, Jordin Crow of Hope, Nick Davis of Lake City, Immanuel Morris of Pine Bluff, Matt Smith of Gosnell, and John Agnew, Jared Green, and Reece Jones, all of Jonesboro, basses.

Personnel for Delta Vox are Christopher Dyson of Harker Heights, Texas, Adonias Finch of Dyer, Tenn., Sarah Hamilton and Sara Ray of Paragould, Erin Reagan of Munford, Tenn., Janette Robinson of Jonesboro, Aaron Fisher and Louis Simpson, both of Memphis, Tenn., and Kyle Smith of Forrest City. Singers for stAte Vox include Dennese Adkins of Cabot, Aaron Fisher of Memphis, Tenn., Jordan Griffin of Jacksonville, Cody Hoover of Bono, Maegan McDaniel of Manila, and Larry Heyl, Mary Rougeau and Kasey Welsh, all of Jonesboro.

For more information about the concert, contact the Department of Music office at (870) 972-2094.