Spring Choral Concert, April 28

The Ashland University Choir, Chamber Singers and Women's Chorus present their final choral concert of the 2018-2019 academic year on Sunday, April 28 at 4 p.m. in the Jack and Deb Miller Chapel. From Mozart to the Beatles and Pentatonix, the concert program celebrates the coming of spring and offers a preview of the University Choir's upcoming tour to Chicago. The concert is free and open to the public.

Dr. Rowland Blackley, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities, will conduct the University Choir in a performance of Benjamin Britten's Time from “Choral Dance from Gloriana,” along with the Kenyan folk song Wana Baraka, Mendelssohn's The Hundredth Psalm and Jack Halloran's arrangement of Witness.

The Chamber Singers, also directed by Dr. Blackley, will perform Penny Lane (as performed by the King's Singers), Ysaye M. Barnwell's Wanting Memories, I Had No Time to Hate by Nathan Howe with poetry by Emily Dickinson, and Swingle's arrangement of Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik.

Directed by Ashland University alumna Julie Strebler-Renner and accompanied by Susan Gregg, the Women's chorus' selections include Brian Tate's Hold Me, Rock Me; Light in the Hallway (as performed by the Pentatonix); the traditional Irish folk song Bandyrowe; and Yonder Come Day, a traditional Georgia Sea Islands melody.

Cabin Fever Choral Concert, Mar. 17

The Ashland University Choir, Chamber Singers and Women's Chorus present a concert to relieve our cabin fever on Sunday, Mar. 17 at 4 p.m. in the Jack and Deb Miller Chapel. The eclectic program will offer everything from Elizabethan madrigals, to a Mass from Haydn, spirituals, contemporary a cappella, folk songs and lullabies. The concert is free and open to the public.

Dr. Rowland Blackley, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities, will conduct the University Choir in a performance of Franz Joseph Haydn's "Little Organ Mass" for choir, small string orchestra and organ. On the Mass' lovely and extended “Benedictus,” it will feature soprano Rebecca Young, junior music major from Oregon, and university organist Dr. Timothy Guenther. Brian Le, senior political science major, will intone the beginning of the Gloria accompanied by Dr. Guenther.

The AU Choir will also sing two very recent choral compositions including “Selene’s Boat” by Don McDonald, based on a poem by Allison Girvan about the Greek goddess of the moon. Much of the piece is textless as it strives to create a certain mood. The final piece, “Rock-a My Soul,” arranged by the contemporary musician Stacey V. Gibbs, starts with the familiar spiritual and takes it to some exciting places through mixed modes, syncopated rhythms, and dramatic textures.

The Chamber Singers, also conducted by Dr. Blackley, will perform Morten Lauridsen’s “Four Madrigals on Renaissance Texts.” This set is accompanied by an instrumental quartet of flute, violin, cello, and bassoon. The juxtaposition of Elizabethan texts with twentieth century music is striking, at times poignant, and consistently effective.

Directed by Ashland University alumna Julie Strebler-Renner and accompanied by Susan Gregg, the Women's chorus' selections begin with "One Voice" by the Wailin’ Jennys, followed by Z. Randall Stroope’s “Lux Aeterna," a French piece titled “Je Le Vous Dirai,“ and conclude with Jacob Narverud’s “Lunar Lullaby.”

Choral Concert Presents Songs of Hope and Renewal

On Sunday, March 26 at 4 p.m. in the Jack and Deb Miller Chapel, a spring choral concert will present a program titled "Deep Peace: Songs of Hope and Renewal." The concert will feature selections from the Ashland University Women's Chorus under the direction of Kimberly Wolbert, and the Ashland Area Chorus, directed by Elizabeth Slade, along with a joint performance by the two ensembles at the end of the concert of John Rutter's A Gaelic Blessing.

Accompanied by Susan Gregg on piano, the Women's Chorus will sing Jubilate Deo by Rebecca te Velde, Pur Ti Mior edited by Dr. Ann Small and Hope Is the Thing with Feathers by Susan LaBarr based on the text by Emily Dickinson. A special ensemble comprised of Victoria Miller, Keeleigh Myers, Morgan Tinnirello along with soloist BeBe Ciupak and percussionist Dave Wolbert will perform the traditional Swahili song Nishike mkono Bwana as arranged by Alex Gartner.

Ashland Area Chorus will present Carl Schalk's arrangement of Mendelssohn's Grant Peace, We Pray, Ubi caritas, No.1 from Quatre motets sur des thèmes grégoriens by Maurice Duruflé, Alice Parker's arrangement of Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal, and Moses Hogan's I'm Gonna Sing 'Til the Spirit Moves In My Heart featuring tenor soloist Tyler McKinney. 

Spring Choral Concert to Feature A Cappella and Folk Music

The Ashland University Chamber Singers, the Women's Chorus and the a cappella ensemble Surround Sound present their spring choral concert on Sunday, May 1 at 4 p.m. in the Jack and Deb Miller Chapel.  The performance is free and open to the public.

Dr. Rowland Blackley, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities, will conduct the Chamber Singers as they perform selections made famous by the best singing groups of their generation while tracing some of the history of the a cappella pop/jazz choral movement over several decades. 

The Chamber Singers will sing Ward Swingle's arrangement of J. S. Bach's Bourree made popular by the Swingle Singers, and Java Jive by Drake and Oakland as arranged by Shaw and sung by the Manhattan Transfer; to Daryl Runswick's arrangement of Paul McCartney's Blackbird as performed by the King’s Singers; Peter Eldridge's Come Home as sung by New York Voices; and Peder Karlsson's Gøta as recorded by the Real Group.

Continuing with the a cappella-theme, the student-led a cappella ensemble Surround Sound will perform three tunes including Bastille's Pompeii, Meghan Trainor's Dear Future Husband and George Ezra's Budapest. 

Directed by Elizabeth Slade, the Women's Chorus will perform from a different genre including folk tunes from the British Isles and Latin America, along with a piece by French composer Maurice Duruflé. 

Chamber Singers, Women's Chorus & Surround Sound Perform Combined Concert

The Ashland University Chamber Singers, Women's Chorus and a cappella ensemble Surround Sound present their final spring concert on Sunday, April 26 at 4 p.m. in the Jack and Deb Miller Chapel.  The performance is free and open to the public.

Dr. Rowland Blackley, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities, will conduct the Chamber Singers as they perform The Seasonings by fictitious composer P.D.Q. Bach. This famous oratorio is a musical satire of Joseph Haydn's The Seasons. The piece will feature soloists as well as common and uncommon instruments.

Dr. Marla Butke, Associate Professor of Music, will direct the Women's Chorus with accompaniment by pianists Rachel Crow and Eddie Carney; DR Haught on flute; Jane Reed, violin; and Tyler Watson, percussion. The program for the Women's Chorus will include Mozart's Dona Nobis Pacem, the art songs Will There Really Be a Morning and Untraveled Worlds, and John Rutter's The Lord Bless You and Keep You which will feature the senior women.

The student-led a cappella ensemble Surround Sound will perform three tunes including Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers' Why Do Fools Fall In Love?, the jazz standard Solitude, and Katy Perry's E.T.

VOCAL ENSEMBLES PERFORM A CHORAL CONCERT OF LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC

The Ashland University choral program collaborates with the College of Arts & Sciences Symposium Against Indifference to present a concert of a variety of Latin American musical selections for voices. Featuring the Ashland University Chamber Singers, Women’s Chorus, and the student a cappella group Surround Sound, the concert will be held on Sunday, April 27, 4:00 p.m. at the Jack and Deb Miller Chapel.  The performance is free and open to the public. 

Dr. Rowland Blackley, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities, will conduct the Ashland University Chamber Singers singing in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin with some pieces including instrumental accompaniment.  With D. R. Haught on guitar, the Chamber Singers will perform Albert Hernandez's modern interpretation of a Venezuelan calypso, Goza Mi Calipso; while percussionist Jake Lange plays percussion on a variety of other pieces including Edmund Hughes' arrangement of the Brazilian folk song Eu e Voce.  The Chamber Singers will also present the first movement of Kyrie from "Missa ego flos campi" by the Mexican Renaissance composer Juan Gutierrez Padilla; and Fransisco Mignone's arrangement of the traditional Brazilian poem about a lovely woman with chestnut eyes, Morena, Morena.  

With recent graduate Jordan Black as the guest conductor and Holly Allan as accompanist, the Women's Chorus will perform the gently flowing "Barter" by Rene Clausen based on the poem written by Sara Teasdale; and the popular Mexican song Cielito Lindo.  The Women's Chorus will also present Alberto Favero's Te Quiero featuring a trio comprised of Stephanie Rankin, Marguerite Tryling and Elizabeth Papantonio. 

The Chamber Singers and Women's Chorus will perform as a combined ensemble for Ernanu Aguiar's "Salmo 150," a modern setting of the 150th Psalm.

INVITATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL CHORAL FESTIVAL RETURNS NOV. 16

The annual Invitational High School Choral Festival returns to Ashland University on Saturday, November 16 which culminates in a public concert at 3:45 p.m. in the Jack and Deb Miller Chapel. Presented by the Department of Music, the concert is free and open to the public. 

Three Ohio high schools will engage in a day of musical and educational activities led by Dr. Rowland Blackley, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities, and Dr. Timothy Guenther, Adjunct Instructor of Music and University organist. Participating choirs include Lexington High School Choir directed by Paul Dawson, Lake High School Madrigal Singers (Cortland) directed by Bonnie Chronister, and Triway High School Choir (Wooster) directed by Stan Willis. For the public concert, musical selections will be performed by each high school choir followed by a combined piece performed by all of the choirs and the Ashland University Choir.