UK Men's Chorus, Women's Choir Welcome Spring in Concert

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 28, 2016) — The University of Kentucky Men's Chorus and Women's Choir will join voices for their spring concert this week. These nationally recognized choral ensembles represent a range of majors across campus from the College of Fine Arts to the Gatton College of Business and Economics. The concert will begin with a pre-show with the acoUstiKats and Paws and Listen, two of UK’s noted a cappella groups, before the main stage performance at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, in the Singletary Center for the Arts Recital Hall.

The UK Men’s Chorus is an 80-voice ensemble composed of students who range from freshman to graduate students. Begun in fall 2002, the Men’s Chorus has grown in size and popularity each semester and is conducted by Jefferson Johnson, director of UK Choral Activities. The choir’s challenging and diverse repertoire includes literature that spans from Gregorian chant to music of the 21st century. Rehearsing only twice a week, the Men’s Chorus maintains an active performing schedule throughout the state of Kentucky, touring each semester.

UK Men’s Chorus has achieved several distinguished honors in recent years. Most recently, the ensemble was selected to perform at the prestigious 2015 American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) National Conference and at the 2016 Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses National Seminar. Both of these appearances earned standing ovations and national acclaim for the chorus.

The UK Women’s Choir is the university’s largest choral ensemble composed of more than 130 of the school’s most talented female voices. These singers, ranging from freshmen to graduate students, represent a variety of musical backgrounds. The choir’s challenging and diverse repertoire includes literature spanning from Gregorian chant to eight-part music of the 21st century. With an emphasis on music by female composers and contemporary composers, the ensemble performs works of many different languages and compositional forms.

Despite their limited rehearsal schedule of two and a half hours per week, the UK Women’s Choir has achieved several distinguished honors in recent years under the direction of Lori Hetzel, associate director of UK School of Music. In 2008, the choir was featured at both the ACDA Southern Division and MENC (National Association for Music Education) National Convention. Most recently, UK Women’s Choir participated as a demonstration choir for the ACDA National Convention in 2013. The choir has also toured internationally including performances at Notre Dame Cathedral, in Paris, and St. Stephen’s Cathedral, in Vienna, in 2005; and St. Peter’s Basilica, in Rome, and St. Mark’s Cathedral, in Florence, in 2009. The choir has toured England, Ireland and Wales in June 2012 with performances at Canterbury Cathedral, Ely Cathedral, Bath Abby and Evensong in St. Patrick’s, in Dublin. In June 2015, the Women’s Choir took their fourth international tour to Spain with performances in Seville, Grenada, Toledo, Cordoba and Madrid and a collaboration with the Seville Youth Orchestra and the University of Toledo.

The acoUstiKats, founded in 1993 by Johnson, as a subsection of the UK Men’s Chorus, are the premier all-male a cappella ensemble in the state of Kentucky. Without the strong support of the UK Choral Department, widely known as a national powerhouse for male singing, this group would not be what it is today. The acoUstiKats have been featured on national television as a part of NBC’s “The Sing-Off” season four.

Paws and Listen is a premiere a cappella ensemble auditioned from the nationally-renowned UK Women's Choir. The ensemble is coached by undergraduate music education majors and advised by Hetzel. This highly esteemed group performs pop and contemporary music while serving as ambassadors on behalf of UK's choral program at numerous prestigious events throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Tickets for UK Men's Chorus and Women's Choir Spring Concert are $10 for general admission and $5 for UK students and children at the door.

For more information on this concert or UK's choirs and/or a cappella groups, contact Joseph Wrightson, administrative assistant for UK Choirs, at joseph.wrightson@g.uky.edu.

The UK choral ensembles are part of the UK School of Music at the UK College of Fine Arts. The school has garnered a national reputation for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, composition, and theory and music history.

UK is the University for Kentucky. At UK, we are educating more students, treating more patients with complex illnesses and conducting more research and service than at any time in our 150-year history. To read more about the UK story and how you can support continued investment in your university and the Commonwealth, go to: uky.edu/uk4ky. #uk4ky #seeblue

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu