University Chorale opens the 2018-2019 season with a Nebraska premiere of I Have a Voice, by Moira Smiley. Smiley, a “musical polyglot, and vocal shape-shifter” uses body percussion and a variety of innovative compositional devices to add dimension to her own text that urges both performers and listeners to find the power in their own voices. Chorale’s entire set features choral music with song texts by poets and lyricists who are women. The final piece in the set, Still I Rise, based on text by Maya Angelou and composed by Rosephanye Powell, features a number of soloists from the ensemble. The Chorale welcomes all listeners to explore how our voices, both individually and collectively, add to the world.

The Chamber Singers will present a set of songs written in a madrigal style both from the Renaissance and Contemporary eras. Of special note are “How Stands the Glass Around?” by African-American composer Ulysses Kay written for The Randolph Singers in 1954 and “Hey Nonny No” of Libby Larsen’s madrigal suite.

Closing the concert will be the Varsity Chorus. They are fresh off of their LET ALL MEN SING choral festival that featured an all-time record enrollment of 500 young men. They will reprise a few of the works from that annual fall event, primarily a seminal choral work by Randall Thompson, a Hebrew chant, and a Kenyan folk song plus add a brand-new piece of music written by one of our undergraduate composition majors who is also an alum of this ensemble, Drew Firkins.


Chamber Singers – directed by Marques L. A. Garrett – is Nebraska’s vocal chamber ensemble. A small choir of 14-18 voices, it is intended to provide the highest level of choral chamber-specific performance experience for graduate and undergraduate singers at the Glenn Korff School of Music and throughout the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

University Chorale – directed by Anne Gassmann (with Prof. Rhonda Fuelberth as faculty advisor) – is a women’s vocal ensemble that performs a varied repertoire of soprano/alto literature.

Varsity Chorus – directed by Dr. Peter Eklund
When the Varsity Chorus gathers on stage, it’s much more than a concert. It’s an event! One that leaves the audience spellbound and wanting more. The choir has been transformed into one of the finest of its kind in the country, as evidenced by their invitation to the 50th Anniversary ACDA National Convention (2009).

Adults $5; Students/Seniors $3.
Live Webcast: https://arts.unl.edu/music/webcasts

Program: https://unl.box.com/s/zkc3bog1ew9kzn592chv4jtzq7uqfr5n