UK Happenings

Wildcats and Bulldogs to Sing Together in Extravaganza

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"Gaudete" performed by the UK Men's Chorus. Video courtesy of American Choral Directors Association.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 6, 2014) — The day before the University of Kentucky football team takes the field against the University of Georgia (UGA), UK and UGA students will share the stage at the Singletary Center for the Arts. The 2014 UK Men’s Chorus will perform alongside the acoUstiKats and the UGA Men’s Glee Club in the annual Men’s Chorus Fall Extravaganza beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7.

As the UK Men’s Chorus, under the direction of Jefferson Johnson, prepares for their spring performance at the American Choral Director Association National Convention in Salt Lake City, they are excited to share the stage with the UGA Men’s Glee Club directed by J.D. Burnett.

This concert will also feature a special guest performance by the acoUstiKats and several alumni from their appearance on NBC’s "The Sing-Off."

The Acoustikats perform "Timber" with Emoni Wilkins and the UK Dance Team. 

Tickets for the Men's Chorus Fall Extravaganza are $15 for general admission and $5 for children. VIP tickets are also available for $30. Tickets may be purchased online at www.etix.com/ticket/online/performanceSearch.jsp?performance_id=1850788, by phone at 859-257-4929, or in person at the Singletary Center box office.

The UK Men’s Chorus is a 90-voice ensemble composed of students who range from freshmen to graduate students. These young men represent a variety of musical backgrounds and academic disciplines. Begun in Fall 2002, the Men’s Chorus has grown in size and popularity each semester. The choir’s challenging and diverse repertoire includes literature that spans from Gregorian chant to music of the 21st century. Rehearsing only twice weekly, the Men’s Chorus maintains an active performing schedule throughout the state of Kentucky, touring each semester.

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. This group of  men has been featured on national television as a part of NBC’s “The Sing-Off” Season 4 and has performed in countless venues across the United States from the shores of Hawaii to Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. The group most recently partnered with Sony Music for a tribute to Elvis Presley alongside several of the country's most renowned collegiate a cappella groups. For more information, visit the esnemble's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. 

UGA's Men's Glee Club, the oldest musical ensemble on Georgia's campus, just celebrated its 120th anniversary season in 2011-2012. The ensemble concentrates on literature for male voices from all periods of music history, sacred and secular, serious and light. Throughout its existence, the Men's Glee Club has continued to be a vital indicator of UGA's school spirit, fraternal conviviality and refined male choral artistry.

For more information on the Men's Chorus Fall Extravaganza or the UK Men’s Chorus, contact Evan Pulliam, administrative assistant to UK Choirs, at evan.pulliam@uky.edu.

UK's Men's Chorus and acoUstiKats are part of UK School of Music at 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.

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

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