Maryville College Concert Choir returns from tour for a March 29 Homecoming celebration
Having recently completed a tour of cities in Tennessee and Georgia, the Maryville College Concert Choir will present selections from that sojourn on March 29 at the Clayton Center for the Arts.
The 2022 Spring Choir Tour marked the first time the organization has been able to take its collection of singers drawn from across disciplines at the College on the road. COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the annual pilgrimage in 2020 and 2021, meaning that only a handful of seniors have ever participated in the musical tradition, said Stacey Wilner, director of choral activities at MC.
“For the students who have never been on a choir tour before, they learned many musical as well as life lessons,” Wilner said. “Since we performed in a variety of locations, from classrooms to sanctuaries, they had to quickly adapt to new people, new acoustical spaces and new programming, and do all of this with focus, grace and patience.
“They have expanded their capabilities, learned about each other and left the tour with a deeper understanding of their colleagues in the choir and a greater appreciation for the graciousness of our new friends at the churches and schools along the tour route.”
After a mini-concert on campus to kick off the tour on March 9, the ensemble performed at churches in Chattanooga; Rome, Georgia; Gainesville, Georgia; and Atlanta, Georgia.
At 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, the annual Choir Tour Homecoming concert will take place in the Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre of the Clayton Center for the Arts, and this year’s theme — “May We Sing Together, Always” — will celebrate the shared communion of performers and audience members united in the joy of song, Wilner said.
“The theme for our tour comes from Eric Whitacre’s composition ‘Sing Gently,’ which was dedicated to every person who played a part in the virtual choir community,” Wilner said. “The tour theme illustrates the students’ dedication to the choral art and the sense of community it creates. Essentially, choral performance is about connecting to the human spirit, and this is more easily accomplished in person.”
The homecoming performance will feature choral selections that include “How Can I Keep From Singing?,” arranged by Sarah Quartel; “Sing Me to Heaven,” by Daniel Gawthrop; and “Sing Quietly,” by Eric Whitacre. Other works on the program include sacred selections for the Easter liturgical season, including “Media Vita” by Irish composer Michael McGlynn and “Dies Irae” from Requiem by Michael John Trotta. Additional numbers will include “Skye Boat Song,” arranged by Paul Lankford, and “Hard Time,” by Stephen Foster.
While on tour, students of the Concert Choir were rejuvenated and honored by attendees who came to the concerts eager for in-person performances to resume again, Wilner said. Capitalizing on that energy and enthusiasm will make next week’s Homecoming performance even more meaningful, she added.
“You could see in the faces of the audience members, be they a church congregation or singers at a high school, that the performances lit a candle of hope for a return to life that resembles the normalcy we all knew prior to COVID,” she said. “The connection made between singers and the audience was a powerful, moving experience for singers and audiences alike. There wasn’t a performance that didn’t end with an ovation and many tears.”
Tickets to the Homecoming concert are $10 and can be purchased at the Clayton Center Box Office by calling 865-981-8590. Admission is free for MC faculty, staff and students. For more information, contact Wilner at stacey.wilner@maryvillecollege.edu.