Members from Regional High School Women’s Choirs to Perform in Mass Concert at Baylor
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Media contact: Terry Goodrich, (254) 710-3321
WACO, Texas (May 8, 2015) – Members from eight regional high school women’s choirs will gather for the 11th Annual Women’s Choir Festival Concert at 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 12, in Baylor University’s Jones Concert Hall in the Glennis McCrary Music Building.
“Sometimes these singers are not given as much attention because of their age or perceived skill level, so this is an opportunity to celebrate women in song and recognize that a women’s choir is a specialty choir,” said Michele Henry, Ph.D., director of Baylor’s music education division and associate professor of choral music education in Baylor’s School of Music.
“We want to acknowledge the time they’ve been spending all year long working. It’s a rare event.”
For the past 11 years, Baylor has extended an invitation to regional high school women’s choir members to come to the university and participate in a day-long festival and mass concert.
“The women’s choir singers will show up in the morning and spend the day with us learning music they’ve never seen before,” Henry said.
The visiting singers will be instructed by Baylor choral music education students in a workshop setting, practicing the pieces they will perform collectively later in the day. This year, more than 300 visiting singers are expected to participate.
“The girls will also get a tour of campus, eat in a dining hall, interact with Baylor students and receive a great T-shirt,” Henry said. “Because it didn’t happen if there wasn’t a T-shirt, right?”
At 5 p.m., everyone will come together to perform in a festival-style choir with three soloist. Typically, the visiting singers are accompanied by Baylor student performers, but due to the delayed timing of the event, only high school choir members will perform. This event was originally scheduled for March 5, but postponed due to weather.
“People should come to support these singers and their skill and talent. They should also come to support the Baylor student teachers who taught them the music and to come and see what it sounds like for high school singers to walk in and go from zero to performance level in a short period of time,” Henry said.
The concert is free and open to the public.
The Glennis McCrary Music Building is located at 110 Bagby Ave. in Waco.
For more information, please contact Michele_Henry@baylor.edu
by Sarah Czerwinski, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
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Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 16,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MUSIC
The Baylor University School of Music provides transformational experiences that prepare students for careers in music. Our students thrive in a Christian environment characterized by a nurturing resident faculty, an unwavering pursuit of musical excellence, a global perspective, dedication to service, and devotion to faith. They investigate the rich musical and cultural heritage of the past, develop superior musical skills and knowledge in the present, and explore and create new modes of musical expression for the future. While preparing for future leadership roles, the students join with School of Music faculty in enhancing the quality of community life, enriching the larger culture, and making Baylor a place in which heart, mind and soul coalesce. The School of Music of Baylor University is a member of the National Association of Schools of Music and the Texas Association of Music Schools. Degree programs leading to the bachelor of music education degree conform to certification requirements of the Texas Education Agency.