By ELIZABETH SUMMERHAY
BYU Singers are traveling to Sydney, Australia this summer to perform in the ‘who’s who of choral music.’ Tonight they will be premiering their Australian tour concert in the de Jong Concert hall at 7:30 p.m.
“In our concert, we will perform a large variety of music: spirituals, musical theatre, American folk, and classical,” said Jonathan Moody, a sophomore member of BYU Singers from Bountiful.
The program for the Friday night performance and for the Sydney performance is entitled “Sing a New Song, the works of living U.S. composers.”
“The text for the last song we will sing in our concert is Psalm 96, which is about singing a new song, set to music by Dr. Merrill Bradshaw, an emeritus BYU faculty member,” said Dr. Ronald Staheli, the director for BYU singers.
The concert will feature living American composers Domonick Argento, Stephen Sondheim, Bradshaw and a host of young talents.
“When we perform we try to share our combined love for the audience, Dr. Staheli, each other and music,” said Emily Wood, a senior from Provo majoring in vocal performance. “It is spiritual.”
“We were invited to sing in the World’s Symposium on Choral Music,” Staheli said. “This is the who’s who of choral music.”
“We have been focusing the whole year on our performance in Australia,” Wood said. “I am excited not only to sing in the Symposium, but also to meet the members of the church in Australia.”
“This is an opportunity to show folks at home what we are doing,” Staheli said.
“Most of the other choirs are professionals, which makes a statement about the quality of our choir when we are put with the best,” Staheli said.
“We are the only university choir from the U.S.,” Staheli said. “The other choirs come from around the world.”
“There is only one other choir in the U.S. that was invited to come,” Moody said. “They are a jazz group from New Orleans.”
The invitation to sing at the symposium is a special invitation, Moody said. It is comparable to the Olympics, but in a choral sense.
For ticket information call ext 8-4322. Prices are $4 for students, faculty and staff, $5 for senior citizens and alumni, and $6 for the general public.
