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MC Concert Choir to present virtual concert April 23

April 15, 2021

The Maryville College Concert Choir and small ensembles Off Kilter, Lads and Lassies will present a virtual concert, titled “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” on Fri., April 23, 2021 at 6 p.m.

The concert will be live streamed and available for viewing at no charge on Vimeo and on the “Friends of Maryville College Concert Choir” Facebook page.

Directors are Stacey Murphy Wilner, director of choral activities and associate director Alan Eleazer, assisted by accompanists Chase Hatmaker ’14 and Kate Wogoman, and choir assistant Hannah White Strong ’18. Percussionist Amber Nejme-Hatmaker ’16 will serve as a guest instrumentalist.

The concert will feature selections that have proven inspiring to the students during the challenges that COVID-19 safety measures have placed on choristers worldwide. During the performance, the students in the choirs will be distanced eight feet and will wear masks designed specifically for singing.

The program will include “Unclouded Day” arr. Shawn Kirchner, “How can I keep from singing?” by Sarah Quartel, “I Will Arise and Go” by Shawn Kirchner and “Hard Times” Stephen Foster/arr. Nick Johnson.

“Singing together is an act of community, which makes a choir a type of adopted family,” Wilner said. “Members have to work together, to accept each other, regardless of musical experience or diversity of background. Members of a choir have to develop listening skills, establish trust in each other to express ideas and perspectives, and be confident enough to make mistakes. Choirs are such closely knit units that singers even practice breathing together.”

Social distancing and masks greatly impacted all of those processes, she said.

 “At the beginning of the academic year, we were all surprised by feelings of uncertainty and nervousness that made life in our ‘choir family’ a very different experience than in the past,” Wilner continued. “Gradually, the situation changed as staff and students worked together to navigate multiple issues to find new ways to challenge ourselves and develop musical and personal connections. This year has actually turned out to be a time of great personal growth. We are excited to be able to host an outdoor concert so that we may safely share the music that has kept us inspired. Choristers and staff are appreciative to the administration of Maryville College and the staff of the Clayton Center for the Arts for their continued and creative support of the choral ensembles throughout this 2020-21 academic year.”

For more information about the concert, contact Hannah White Strong at hannah.white@maryvillecollege.edu or Stacey Wilner at Stacey.wilner@maryvillecollege.edu

Maryville College is a nationally-ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges. For more than 200 years we’ve educated students to be giving citizens and gifted leaders, to study everything, so that they are prepared for anything — to address any problem, engage with any audience and launch successful careers right away. Located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville, Maryville College offers nearly 1,200  students from around the world both the beauty of a rural setting and the advantages of an urban center, as well as more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last. Today, our 10,000 alumni are living life strong of mind and brave of heart and are prepared, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”