Fifty-nine Catawba College students, all members of the Catawba Singers, the college's auditioned concert choir, are set to depart campus for their Spring 2008 Tour on Wednesday, Feb. 27. The Spring 2008 Tour coincides in part with Catawba's spring break, which begins March 1.
The Catawba Singers are under the direction of Paul E. Oakley, Catawba's Director of Choral, Vocal and Sacred Music Studies, Associate Professor of Music, and also the College Organist. Oakley joined the College last summer with the mandates to build a concert choir and reinstate Catawba's annual choral recruitment tour. Students who were selected last fall to participate in the Catawba Singers did so knowing that a Spring 2008 Tour was in their future.
The annual tour provides an opportunity for the college to have "face to face" conversations with alumni and prospective students in various regions of the country. Additionally, it allows the institution to widen and deepen ties to the United Church of Christ denomination, with which Catawba is affiliated. Professor Oakley says this year's tour will take the Singers through the Southeast, with performance stops in various cities, including Isle of Palms (Charleston), S.C., Greater Orlando, Fla., Gainesville, Fla., Smyrna, Ga., Dalton, Ga., and Chattanooga, Tenn. In each of these cities, churches will host the students in members' homes and will provide performance venues.
Following is a list of performance venues, dates and times:
-
;
-
View Flyer ?:
7:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 27
First United Methodist Church,
Twenty-first Avenue at Palm Boulevard
Isle of Palms, S.C.
For information call: 843-886-6610
Tour contacts: Drs. Barton and Conway Saylor
View Flyer ?
; -
Orlando, Florida area:
7:30 p.m., Thursday, February 28
Coronado Community United Methodist Church,
201 South Peninsula Ave.
New Smyrna Beach, FL
For information call: 386-428-6252
co-sponsored by New Smyrna Beach UCC Church
Tour contacts: The Reverend Ms. Esther Robinson, The Reverend Ms. Sarah Lund
Orlando, Florida area
; -
Miami, Florida area:
11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Sunday, March 2
Coral Gables Congregational UCC Church,
3010 DeSoto Blvd.
Coral Gables, Fla.
For information call: 305-448-7421
Tour contact: The Reverend Dr. Laurinda M. Hafner
Miami, Florida area
; -
View Flyer ?:
7:30 p.m., Monday, March 3
United Church of Gainesville (UCC)
1624 NW 5th Avenue
Gainesville, Fla.
For information call: 352-378-3500
Tour contacts: The Reverend Mr. Larry Reimer, The Reverend Ms. Sandy Reimer
View Flyer ?
; -
Atlanta, Georgia area:
7:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 4
Smyrna First United Methodist Church
1315 Concord Road SE
Smyrna, Ga.
For information call: 770-436-4108
Tour contact: Ms. Kim Duggins
Atlanta, Georgia area
; -
View Flyer ?:
6:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 5
First Baptist Church
311 N. Thornton Ave.
Dalton, Ga.
For information call: 706-278-2911
Tour contact: The Reverend Mr. Larry Flanagan
View Flyer ?
For two students who are Catawba Singers, the Spring 2008 Tour represents a homecoming of sorts. Paul Saylor of Isle of Palms, S.C., will perform at his home church in his hometown, as will Katherine Tierney of Smyrna., Ga.
At each performance venue, a wide variety of repertoire will be performed ranging from 13th century chant, motets of Palestrina, Scarlatti, Viadana; psalm settings by Handel, Mendelssohn, and Vaughan Williams; two Jewish sacred songs; liturgical music of Rachmaninoff and Orban; and several pieces in jazz style, spirituals and a rocking African-American gospel song. There is something for everyone in this program. Each concert will close with the new Catawba Singers' theme song, "The Earth Adorned," by Swedish composer Waldemar Ahlen.
Phil Kirk, Catawba College's Vice President of External Affairs, says that concerts designed by Professor Oakley are "not just choral concerts, they are choralEvents." He encourages music lovers, Catawba alumni and prospective students to make plans to attend a performance of the Catawba Singers during their Spring 2008 Tour.
Students participating in the Spring 2008 Tour and their hometowns are as follows:
-
;
- Jacqueline Allen of Winston-Salem, N.C. ;
- Shannon Axtell of Charlotte, N.C. ;
- Laura Bame of China Grove, N.C. ;
- Nicole Bowles of Monroe, N.C. ;
- Meggie Bumgarner of Newton, N.C. ;
- Adam Carter of Thomasville, N.C. ;
- Sandra Ciborowski of Woodbine, Md. ;
- Christopher Clowers of Whitefish Bay, Wis. ;
- Devon Currie of Jamestown, N.C. ;
- KaShara Davis of Charlotte, N.C. ;
- Jennifer Drake of Mechanicsville, Md. ;
- Lisa Easter of Ladera Ranch, Calif. ;
- Jordan Ellis of Shelby, N.C. ;
- Jessica Goble of Salisbury, N.C. ;
- Florence Hamrick of Granite Quarry, N.C. ;
- Carrie Harris of Asheville, N.C. ;
- Ashleigh Herndon of Conway, S.C. ;
- Daniel Hines of Yorktown, Va. ;
- Courtney Jackson of Flat Rock, N.C. ;
- Mason Jewett of Arlington, Texas ;
- Jeremias Jens Johnson of Mercersburg, Pa. ;
- Jared Kenish of Glassboro, N.J. ;
- Stephanie Key of Richlands, N.C. ;
- Sonny Kong of Charlotte, N.C. ;
- Chase A. Kyles of Salisbury, N.C. ;
- Mollie Landers of Williamsport, Pa. ;
- Michael Lasris of Seaford, Va. ;
- Emily Lewis of Cincinnati, Ohio ;
- Justin Lewis of Knoxville, Tenn. ;
- Christopher Lunetta of Middleboro, Mass. ;
- Zackary Lynch from Selbyville, Del. ;
- Jacob McClain of Williamsburg, Va. ;
- Amber McCleerey of Hendersonville N.C. ;
- Erica Mickey of Thomasville, N.C. ;
- Matthew Newton of Holly Springs, N.C. ;
- Mary Alice Nichols of Conyers, Ga. ;
- Diana Ogden of Salisbury, N.C. ;
- Monica Ostroska of Rockwell, N.C. ;
- Joshua Owen of East Bend, N.C. ;
- Lydia Price of Boynton Beach, Fla. ;
- Zachary Roe of Connelly Springs, N.C. ;
- Sheldon Rogers of Waxhaw, N.C. ;
- Cecilia Runge of Milford, N.J. ;
- Daniel Ryan of Westborough, Mass. ;
- Paul Saylor of Isle of Palms, S.C. ;
- Robyn Shute of Salisbury, N.C. ;
- Brianna Smith of Austin, Texas (Read Blog) ;
- Caitlin Springs of Santa Clara, Calif. ;
- Mara Stewart of Hurricane, W.Va. ;
- Bianca Stokes of Landis, N.C. ;
- Dustin Sullivan of Monroe, N.C. ;
- Aubree Summers of Fayetteville, N.C. ;
- Jessica Taige of Wauwatosa, Wis. ;
- Timothy Thomas of Charlotte, N.C. ;
- Katherine Tierney of Smyrna, Ga. ;
- Kristopher Watson of Voorhees, N.J. ;
- Alexander Will of Milton, Mass. ;
- Molly Williams of Galax, Va. ;
- Emily Wonderly of Hicksville, Ohio ;
- Felicia Youngblood of Rural Hall, N.C.
RELATED CONTENT:
PHOTOS: Spring 2008 Choir Tour
PHOTOS: Catawba Singers Choir
VIDEO: Catawba Singers Perform
-
;
- BLOG: Spring Choir Tour Experiences ;
- Catawba Singers' Home Concert March 16 ;
- Other Ensembles ;
- Music at Catawba ;
- Musical Performances
