Cool pic by Walt Stricklin AKA Nancy's Hub

Christmas Press Release

DEC. 6, THE UAB DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC TO PRESENT HOLIDAY FAMILY FAVORITE, “CHRISTMAS AT THE ALYS”



BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Concert Choir and Chamber Singers will join with the Hueytown High School Chamber Choir in presenting “Christmas at the Alys,” at 3 p.m. Sunday, December 6, at UAB’s Alys Stephens Center, 1200 10th Ave. South. Admission is free. Call 205-975-2787.

“Christmas at the Alys” is an annual celebration of the season presented by the UAB Department of Music.



This year several well-known works associated with the holiday spirit will be included on the program, including Maurice Durufle’s “Ubi Caritas,” Elizabeth Poston’s “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree” and Healy Willan’s “The Three Kings.” Other works to be featured will include traditional favorites of the Christmas season, such as “Fum, Fum, Fum” and “Carol of the Bells” by the Hueytown Chamber Choir. The choirs will unite on “What Sweeter Music,” a work by English composer John Rutter that has quickly become a standard among fine choirs across the world.

The UAB Concert Choir frequently introduces lesser known choral masterpieces to classical audiences. For this concert, the choir will perform “Videntes Stellam Magi,” a work by Emanuele Vianelli, a composer with the Milan, Italy cathedral since 1998.

Touring nationally and internationally, the UAB Concert Choir has quickly gained recognition as one of Alabama’s finest a cappella choirs. In March 2010, the choir will be featured at the American Choral Directors Association regional convention in Memphis, Tenn. The choir was recently featured at the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO) convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2008, the choir won the Heinrich Schütz Perpetual Trophy for their performance of a work by the Baroque composer in the Fleischman International Choral Competition in Cork, Ireland. It was UAB’s second international competition; the first was participation in the 34th annual Florlilege Vocal de Tours in Tours, France, where the choir won two awards, the Prix Du Ministère de La Culture, an award given for best interpretation of a French choral work, and shared the top award in the Mixed Choirs Category.



About UAB

UAB is the first all-Steinway piano school in Alabama. The UAB Department of Music presents more than 150 concerts, recitals, master classes and lectures each year – many of them free – for more than 400,000 people throughout the region. The department features 17 ensembles. Visit the department online at www.music.uab.edu.

Three Kings

Brian Denton gave us this:




Their sound is superb. Listen to the nuances they give (or not) and let's discuss in rehearsal.

Early would be a good thing

Remember: First Baptist Birmingham NOT Bluff Park Methodist

Address:

First Baptist Church of Birmingham
2209 Lakeshore Drive
Birmingham, Alabama 35209

Directions

From I-459/Hoover and Pelham area

Take I-65 North to the Lakeshore exit. Take a right on Lakeshore. Stay on Lakeshore, passing Samford on your left. We are located just past Samford on the corner of Lakeshore and Hwy. 31.

From I-459/Trussville and Liberty Park area

Take Hwy 280 North from I-459 to the Lakeshore/Homewood. Take a left on Lakeshore. Stay on Lakeshore, passing Brookwood Village Mall on your left. We are located just past Brookwood Village on the corner of Lakeshore and Hwy. 31. Go under the Hwy. 31 bridge and we are on the right.

From I-59/20 and North Birmingham

Take I-65 South to the Lakeshore exit. Take a left on Lakeshore. Stay on Lakeshore, passing Samford on your left. We are located just past Samford on the corner of Lakeshore and Hwy. 31.

A bad dream

Great creativity here:

Ben's Song

WE is smarter than ME.

Get to work, you creative members of the Chamber Choir.


Ben's Song

The Misnomer

Following yesterday's conversation about virile, viral, and virulent regarding "Videntes stellam" (confession time: I was confusing virulent for virile), Sadie and I had this conversation:

Me: I've decided to change my screen name to Dr. Vocabulary.
Sadie: Wow, that's a misnomer.
Sadie: Wait, do you know what a misnomer is?

Hilarity ensued.

Press release for Selma and Montgomery

NOV. 15, UAB CONCERT CHOIR TO PRESENT FREE CONCERT
AT SELMA’S FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH


BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Concert Choir will present two free concerts at churches in Montgomery and Selma Sunday, Nov. 15. The choir will perform at 4 p.m. at Memorial Presbyterian Church, 2130 Bell Road, Montgomery, then at 7 p.m. at Selma’s First Presbyterian Church, 301 Broad St. Call the UAB Department of Music at 205-934-7376 or visit www.music.uab.edu.


Philip Copeland, D.M.A., conducts the 42-voice a cappella choir. Audiences will be amazed by the musical artistry and technical accuracy of the UAB students as they sing works frequently featured in international competitions of choral music. Copeland has selected a diverse program for the performance that includes stunning music from five centuries and five nations, including Latvian, Latin and Hungarian works as well as several spirituals and hymns.


On the program is Toivo Tuula’s “Auringon Noustessa,” a work that celebrates a promised freedom from oppression. Also featured is Finnish composer Jaakko Mäntyjärvi’s arrangement of “Death May Dissolve Me,” a work from William Billings, the United States’ most famous early American composer. The work also features the spiritual poetry of Isaac Watts, known as the “Father of English Hymnody,” whose hymns “Joy to the World” and “O God Our Help in Ages Past” are well known to church congregations.


The UAB Concert Choir frequently introduces lesser known choral masterpieces to the classical audience of Birmingham. In this concert, a work from English composer Cecilia McDowall and Lithuanian composer Vytautas Miškinis will be included. Other works to be featured include the famous 16th century composer William Byrd’s “Haec Dies,” a standard among fine college choirs across the United States. “Esti dal” by Zoltan Kodaly, one of Hungary’s best known composers, also will be included on the program.


Touring nationally and internationally, the UAB Concert Choir has quickly gained recognition as one of Alabama’s finest a cappella choirs. In March 2010, the choir will be featured at the American Choral Directors Association regional convention in Memphis, Tenn. The choir was recently featured at the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO) convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2008, the choir won the Heinrich Schütz Perpetual Trophy for their performance of a work by the Baroque composer in the Fleischman International Choral Competition in Cork, Ireland. It was UAB’s second international competition; the first was participation in the 34th annual Florlilege Vocal de Tours in Tours, France, where the choir won two awards, the Prix Du Ministère de La Culture, an award given for best interpretation of a French choral work, and shared the top award in the Mixed Choirs Category.


About UAB

UAB is the first all-Steinway piano school in Alabama. The UAB Department of Music presents more than 150 concerts, recitals, master classes, and lectures each year - many of them free - for more than 400,000 people throughout the region. The department features 17 ensembles. Visit the department online at www.music.uab.edu.


VIDEO: www.youtube.com/uabnews TEXT: www.uab.edu/news TWEETS: www.twitter.com/uabnews