- 303 Haggar College Center
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
(574) 284-4579 - Director of Media Relations
Gwen O'Brien
gobrien@saintmarys.edu
Two Choral Engagements Coming up at Saint Mary's
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Two Choral Engagements Coming up at Saint Mary's College
Contact:
Gwen O’Brien
Director of Media Relations
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, Ind.
(574) 284-4579
November 4, 2009 (Notre Dame, Ind.)—Saint Mary's College is pleased to announce two upcoming choral engagements that are free and open to the public.
The Fall Choral Concert will be held on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. in O’Laughlin Auditorium. Two Saint Mary’s ensembles, the Women’s Choir and the Collegiate Choir, under the direction of music professor Dr. Nancy Menk, join forces for this annual event. The result of this collaboration is an entertaining and exhilarating evening of song that allows the audience to seek meaning and beauty in the perfect art of music.
As a special treat, the Women’s Choir will debut the new work of Canadian conductor and composer Eleanor Daley, titled “How the Flowers Came.” Daley, who is commissioned extensively throughout North America, will be at Saint Mary's College the next week to work with students attending the 25th Annual High School Women’s Choir Festival. The high school choirs will also sing “How the Flowers Came.” The College commissioned the piece in honor of the event’s silver anniversary.
The 25th Annual High School Women’s Choir Festival will take place in O’Laughlin Auditorium on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 19-20 from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. This event attracts women’s choirs from schools throughout the Great Lakes region, including Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Illinois. Each choir will work with commentators (conductors/composers) in clinics to perfect their sound. Joining Daley as commentators are conductors/composers Paul Carey and Lee Kesselman. This is not a competitive event.
“Each choir performs three to four pieces for the commentators and the other participating choirs,” explains Menk. “Following their performance they receive written comments from two of the commentators, and a third commentator comes on stage and works with the choir, wearing a microphone so all the participants can benefit from his/her ideas and suggestions. Sometimes they work on vocal technique and sometimes on musical interpretation and concert presence.”
Menk brought the festival to the College in 1984 to provide a festival performance outlet for high school girls' choirs and to promote and encourage the performance of quality women's choir repertoire. “Even today, there are not many festivals geared solely to women's or treble choirs. At most high schools, the mixed choir is the top choir and often the women's choir is a second-level choir and often doesn't have the opportunity to travel or participate in festivals.”
Menk is quick to point to a study that indicates student involvement in choirs leads to success in other areas. The 2009 Chorus Impact Study by Chorus America found that children who sing in choruses get significantly better grades, are better team players and have more advanced social skills.
About Saint Mary’s College: Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., is a four-year, Catholic, women’s institution offering five bachelor’s degrees and more than 30 major areas of study. Saint Mary’s College has six nationally accredited academic programs: social work, art, music, teacher education, chemistry and nursing. Saint Mary's College ranks among the nation's top 100 liberal arts colleges in U.S. News & World Report's 2010 annual survey. Founded in 1844, Saint Mary’s is a pioneer in the education of women, and is sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Cross.
