Spring rehearsals announced for College's music ensembles

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 23, 2009
Contact: Karen B. Eldridge, Director of News and Public Information
865.981.8207; karen.eldridge@maryvillecollege.edu

Rehearsals will begin soon for three Maryville College music ensembles that welcome the participation of community vocalists and musicians.

Youth Chorale welcoming new members

The Maryville College Youth Chorale, under the direction of Martha Robinson, will begin rehearsals for the spring semester at 5 p.m., Feb. 3, in the College’s Bartlett Hall, rooms 102 and 103.

The Youth Chorale is open to singers ages 9 to 15. The Feb. 3 rehearsal, which will conclude around 6:30 p.m., is open to interested singers and their parents. This informational session will also be a “Friend Night” for the current choir members. “Come join us for a rehearsal, bring a friend or two, and give it a try!” said Robinson, who is music specialist and choir director at Maryville Intermediate School.

The Youth Chorale’s spring concert is scheduled for 7 p.m., May 11 at the Chilhowee Club in Maryville.

For more information, contact Robinson at 865.748-.7935 or martha4robinson@gmail.com.

Community Chorus begins work on ‘We Hold These Truths’

The Maryville College Community Chorus, under the direction of Alan Eleazer, is looking for singers for a performance of “We Hold These Truths” by John Purifoy.

Rehearsals will begin at 7 p.m., Feb. 3, in the choir room at the First United Methodist Church of Maryville, located at 804 Montvale Station Road.

Singers who are high-school age and older are encouraged to participate. There is no audition. Scores will be available for purchase at the first rehearsal.

A native of Knoxville, Purifoy is an ASCAP composer and arranger with various published choral anthems, cantatas, keyboard collections and works recorded by Carol Lawrence, Anita Kerr, the Chicago Master Chorale and other artists.

His work for chorus and orchestra, “We Hold These Truths,” which was narrated by Alex Haley and Edie Ellis, won the 1987 Freedoms Foundation Award for musical programs. The work features patriotic literature, including the Preamble to the Constitution, the Gettysburg Address and part of the speech President Kennedy was scheduled to give in Dallas in 1963.

The performance will be a combined concert with the Orchestra at Maryville College, under the direction of Bill Robinson, and is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., April 27 at First Baptist Church in Maryville. The dress rehearsal will be 2-4:30 p.m., April 26.

For more information, contact director Alan Eleazer at 423.442.2001 (ext. 1867) or eleazera@hiwassee.edu or Stacey Wilner, coordinator of choral music at Maryville College, at 865.981.8151 or stacey.wilner@maryvillecollege.edu.

Concert Band begins rehearsals Feb. 4

The Maryville College-Community Concert Band will begin rehearsals for its 2009 concert season at 7 p.m. Wed., Feb. 4, in the Maryville High School Music Building band room. The band is seeking local brass, woodwind and percussion players with concert-band experience to share the excitement and camaraderie of being part of this excellent musical organization. Also, serious high school musicians are encouraged to participate.

The band room is located behind the high school adjacent the football field. The Wednesday evening, 7 to 9 p.m. rehearsals will be held at this location during the construction of the new Civic Arts Center, slated to open in the winter of 2010. The band’s 2009 performance schedule will include public spring and fall concerts.

The more than 60 member ensemble was established in 1992 by its director, Dr. Larry Smithee, associate professor of music at Maryville College. The band’s musicians represent a mixture of ages. Adult members hail from Blount County and other surrounding communities, and are retired or engaged in a variety of professional endeavors, while student members are from Maryville College and several of the area’s other academic institutions.

The band provides student members with an excellent opportunity to significantly enhance their performing experience, while allowing adult members the opportunity to continue a lifelong love of the concert-band genre.

To join the band or for more information, contact Dr. Smithee at 865.981.8153 or larry.smithee@maryvillecollege.edu.

Maryville College is ideally situated in Maryville, Tenn., between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Knoxville, the state's third largest city. Founded in 1819, it is the 12th oldest institution of higher learning in the South and maintains an affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Known for its academic rigor and its focus on the liberal arts, Maryville is where students come to stretch their minds, stretch themselves and learn how to make a difference in the world. Total enrollment for the fall 2009 semester is 1,103.