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Concert Choir to perform in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham
Sep 28, 2006 3:50 PM
By Tannika King - Faculty
Darlington School’s Concert Choir will travel to Alabama in late October to give two special performances.
As the featured guest choir at the University of Alabama’s 19th Annual Honor Choir Festival on Oct. 30, the group will spend the entire day in residence in Tuscaloosa.
“I was most pleased and excited when we received the invitation to be the featured guest choir at this event,” said Dan Bishop, chairman of the fine arts department. “Having our Concert Choir perform during the festival not only brings recognition to the Darlington, but to the individual talents of our students.”
At 6 p.m. that evening, Darlington’s group will be joined by other high school singers from across the Southeast, as well as the University Singers, to present a concert at the Moody Music Building on UAB’s campus. During the performance, Darlington’s Concert Choir will present a 15-minute mini-concert.
“Any time a choral group can meet with other choral groups and make music should be deemed as a worthwhile endeavor,” said Bishop. “The excitement of hearing more than 300 voices sing the literature your group of 50 singers has been preparing is just amazing. It is also quite an honor to be asked to present a mini-concert at an honor choir festival of this type.”
The entire event is under the leadership of Dr. John Ratledge, director of choral activities for the university.
“It is always a pleasure and a great learning experience to sing under the direction of another conductor. They have to learn how to respond to that director’s wants and wishes while also responding to the new sounds created by the other singers around them,” said Bishop. “It is a huge honor to work under the conducting baton of Dr. John Ratledge. He is, in my opinion, one of the most talented conductors in the nation. The sounds and nuances that he is able to create with his singers would be considered magical.
As part of this mini-tour, the Concert Choir will also perform at the Birmingham Bash, an admission and alumni gathering, on Oct. 29.
“Presenting concerts on tours like this allows our students to experience, firsthand, all of the feelings associated with performing outside of their comfort zone,” said Bishop. “We always hear that practice makes perfect, but I can tell you that practicing without performing will get you no where in the musical discipline. They must go hand in hand.”
For more information about these and other fine arts opportunities, please e-mail Dan Bishop or view the School Calendar.
As the featured guest choir at the University of Alabama’s 19th Annual Honor Choir Festival on Oct. 30, the group will spend the entire day in residence in Tuscaloosa.
“I was most pleased and excited when we received the invitation to be the featured guest choir at this event,” said Dan Bishop, chairman of the fine arts department. “Having our Concert Choir perform during the festival not only brings recognition to the Darlington, but to the individual talents of our students.”
At 6 p.m. that evening, Darlington’s group will be joined by other high school singers from across the Southeast, as well as the University Singers, to present a concert at the Moody Music Building on UAB’s campus. During the performance, Darlington’s Concert Choir will present a 15-minute mini-concert.
“Any time a choral group can meet with other choral groups and make music should be deemed as a worthwhile endeavor,” said Bishop. “The excitement of hearing more than 300 voices sing the literature your group of 50 singers has been preparing is just amazing. It is also quite an honor to be asked to present a mini-concert at an honor choir festival of this type.”
The entire event is under the leadership of Dr. John Ratledge, director of choral activities for the university.
“It is always a pleasure and a great learning experience to sing under the direction of another conductor. They have to learn how to respond to that director’s wants and wishes while also responding to the new sounds created by the other singers around them,” said Bishop. “It is a huge honor to work under the conducting baton of Dr. John Ratledge. He is, in my opinion, one of the most talented conductors in the nation. The sounds and nuances that he is able to create with his singers would be considered magical.
As part of this mini-tour, the Concert Choir will also perform at the Birmingham Bash, an admission and alumni gathering, on Oct. 29.
“Presenting concerts on tours like this allows our students to experience, firsthand, all of the feelings associated with performing outside of their comfort zone,” said Bishop. “We always hear that practice makes perfect, but I can tell you that practicing without performing will get you no where in the musical discipline. They must go hand in hand.”
For more information about these and other fine arts opportunities, please e-mail Dan Bishop or view the School Calendar.
