New voices welcome in University Chorus

The University Chorus is on the lookout for new members in the upcoming semesters. Students can join the University Chorus by simply registering for the class with no audition or choral experience necessary.

The University Chorus Director, Briana Nannen, said the group is “really for any student that is looking for an opportunity to learn more about the voice and to exercise the voice in a choral setting.”

The class is listed as MUS 204 for undergraduate students with few credit hours, MUS 404 for undergraduate students with a greater number of credit hours and MUS 504 for graduate students. It is available in both the fall and spring semesters.

The University Chorus meets for rehearsals from 12:00 to 1:20 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays in Smith Music Hall 150. Nannen said her expectations for members are that they show up every day, participate and keep an open mind.

The University Chorus typically performs at the Fountain Ceremony held every year on Nov. 14. In addition to this, the group holds a winter concert, spring concert and various events that they are invited to join.

The chorus has previously collaborated with Marshall’s Wind Symphony and invited students from Cabell Midland High School to perform with them as a featured ensemble. They also invited children from elementary schools throughout Cabell County to join them in a song.

Nannen said more collaborations are in the works for the future, though logistics are still being sorted out, and “while it is not extensive performing, we are available to perform with other performing arts groups in the area.”

The University Chorus currently has about 40 members.

“The more people that we have together, the easier it becomes,” Nannen said. “You allow people, students, whoever, to recognize that our voices collectively together are much stronger than one individual voice, and that’s a pretty strong metaphor for life.”

Summer Jewell can be contacted at [email protected].