The University Singers of Jacksonville University In Concert at St. Mark's on Friday, February 6 at 7:00 P.M.

It was my first day as a college music major at Jacksonville University  The first piece of music I remember working on was Noel Goemanne’s “Cantate Sing to the Lord.”  Dr. Jon Carlson, our director, was teaching us how to do “count singing” – something I had never done before. It was HARD, but within a few minutes I had the process down and was having the time of my life.

JU still has a chamber group, now under the direction of Dr. Timothy Snyder who each year leads a new group of choral students through the journey of mastering the demands of excellent choral literature.

I am excited to announce that the University Singers, with JU voice faculty Prof. Kimberly Beasley and Dr. Jay Ivey, will be performing a FREE concert at St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church on Friday, February 6, at 7:00 p.m.  This is their “homecoming” concert after their annual Florida tour.

The following is from a press release by Dr. Snyder.

Under the direction of Dr. Timothy Snyder, the 25-voice University Singers perfoms an eclectic and challenging repertoire spanning the centuries and the globe including Renaissance polyphony, Baroque and Classical masterworks, folksongs, music theatre, opera and new music by living composers.

The University Singers has performed for the American Choral Directors Association, Beaches Fine Arts Series, and the Florida Music Educators Association.  Notable appearances include concerts in New York’s Avery Fisher Hall, England’s Canterbury Cathedral and numerous collaborations with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra.  The University Singers gives over forty concerts each year on campus, in the community and on tour.  Most recently the Singers toured in France where they performed at Chartes, La Madeline, Paris and the Basilica of St. Nicholas, Nantes.  A 2016 concert tour to Italy is in preparation.

The legacy of musical excellence continues at Jacksonville University and is likely to continue for many years.  After all, the young people singing in the choir today weren’t even born when I was a student at JU.  Perhaps many more generations of future JU-educated performers, music teachers, church musicians, accompanists, and choral directors are yet waiting to be born.  I believe this is true.

Photos:
Top - the Jacksonville University Chamber Singers in 1981. I am the second guy in from the right.
Middle - Dr. Timothy Snyder
Bottom: The University Singers in a more recent photo