March 14, 2007

LIVINGSTON, Ala.—The halls are alive with the sound of music! The University of West Alabama's Pruitt Hall to be specific. Both of the school's choral groups, the UWA Concert Choir and the UWA Singers, are singing concerts next week. 

First up, the UWA Concert Choir sings a concert entitled “From the Vaults” on Tuesday, March 20 at 7 p.m. at Livingston First Presbyterian Church. Choral Director John Brown describes the concert as “a grab bag of choral literature.” 

“No one realizes that the UWA choral library has been growing for years and there are nearly 1,000 musical works on the shelves,” Brown said. “Some are rather dated, with language that was once perfectly acceptable, but not today in our politically correct world. There are choral classics by Bach, Mozart, Brahms and others and lots of pieces that were popular at a specific time.  There is a rich trove of 1970s music, for example.

“‘From the Vaults’ will feature music by Tomas Luis De Victoria, Franz Schubert, Randall Thompson and arrangements by Shaw-Parker in the first half. The second half will be some music most have not heard in a while!” Brown said.

The UWA Singers will take the stage twice, first at UWA's Honors Day luncheon and then in Pruitt Hall on Thursday, March 22 at 7 p.m. This program will be a salute to Broadway, highlighting songs from “South Pacific,” “State Fair,” “Big River,” “Lost in the Stars,” “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “The Sound of Music.” Held in the University's choral rehearsal room, this concert will be an informal, relaxing night of good music sung by a group of talented students. 

Everyone is encouraged to attend and judge for themselves the state of the arts at UWA. Both concerts are free and open to the public. For more information, please contact John Brown at (205) 652-3764.