UK Choirs' 'Collage' Brings Holiday 'Tidings of Comfort and Joy'
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 27, 2019) — It’s time to haul out the holly and deck the halls once again at the University of Kentucky Choirs 22nd annual “Collage: A Holiday Spectacular,” Dec. 7-8, at the Singletary Center for the Arts Concert Hall.
“Collage” is a fast-paced and visually exciting concert featuring more than 500 celebrated vocalists and musicians from the UK School of Music and the Lexington Singers Children’s Choir coming together to perform holiday favorites from close to home and around the globe.
A Central Kentucky holiday tradition, “Collage” is presented by the UK Choirs under the direction of Jefferson Johnson, director of UK Choral Activities, and Lori Hetzel, associate director of UK Choral Activities. The concerts showcase the department's highly praised student groups: UK Chorale; UK Choristers conducted by Elizabeth Wilson; UK Women's Choir; and UK Men's Chorus, as well as the UK Choirs' a cappella groups, the acoUstiKats, Paws and Listen and Blue Note.
Along with the UK Choirs, this season’s concerts will feature performances by Associate Professor Dieter Hennings on guitar; the UK Trombone Quartet led by Associate Professor Bradley Kerns; UK Tuba Quintet directed by Assistant Professor Matthew Hightower; SaxCats led by part-time Professor Lisa Osland; UK Blue Steel, a steel drum band led by Professor James Campbell; UK Holiday Clarinets led by Associate Professor Scott Wright; and crowd favorite, the GrassKats, a bluegrass band led by Johnson. UK alumnus and celebrated tenor Gregory Turay will be the featured soloist for the concert’s performance of “O Holy Night.”
In addition to showcasing the UK Choirs and musicians at the UK School of Music, each year "Collage" features the rich talents of the Lexington arts community. UK will welcome back to the stage the Lexington Singers Children's Choir, conducted by Hetzel and alumnus Daniel Wesley, for several songs. The programs will also include appearances by Lexington Catholic High School Chamber Choir, directed by UK alumni Robert Vanover and Katie Owens; Paul Laurence Dunbar High School Chamber Choir, directed by Tiffany Marsh; and Lexington Christian Academy Advanced Women’s Choir, directed by Wesley.
“Collage” will help the Bluegrass rejoice in the holiday spirit beginning 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, at the Singletary Center Concert Hall. Tickets for "Collage" are $30 for general admission and $15 for students and children plus processing fees. Tickets are available through the Singletary Center ticket office by phone at 869-257-4929, online at www.scfatickets.com, or in person at the box office.
UK Choirs is part of the School of Music in the UK College of Fine Arts. The school, currently celebrating 101 years of excellence, has garnered a national reputation for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, music therapy, composition, and theory and music history.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.