Back to the stage: Maryville College choirs, bands, orchestras and more prepare for spring rehearsals

Jan. 10, 2024

Spring rehearsals for the second half of the 2023-24 academic year begin next week for Maryville College’s community music ensembles after being postponed due to inclement weather and hazardous road conditions.

All ensembles, according to Dr. Eric Simpson — associate professor of music and director of bands at MC — are open to membership by community members who play and sing alongside students in each organization. The result is a stronger, more collaborative performance group that offers opportunities for both demographics.

“As a Carnegie Community Engagement institution, Maryville College recognizes the strong connections that we have to our region,” Simpson said. “All of our community ensembles are part of that connection. Providing the means for our students and local residents to come together to make music is another way that we act upon our mission statement and demonstrate that we take seriously the responsibility of dedicating ‘a life of creativity and service to the peoples of the world.’”

The Maryville College Community Chorus, under the direction of Dr. Dwight Dockery ’05, will begin spring rehearsals at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 23, in the Harry H. Harter Choral Rehearsal Room at the Clayton Center for the Arts, on the MC campus. Rehearsals take place from 7-9 p.m. every Tuesday, and the chorus is open to all area singers of all talent levels above the age of 16. Music reading experience is helpful but not required. Registration for the choir will be at the first rehearsal. This established chorus of over 50 singers has a strong tradition of presenting quality choral music of various styles and genres and often features the music of area composers and arrangers, as well as the classic gems of the masters.

At 7 p.m. on Jan. 24, the MC3 Band — under the direction of Jay Romines — will begin spring rehearsals in the Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre of the Clayton Center. Rehearsals will be held on Wednesdays from 7 until 9 p.m. in the Clayton Center for the Arts on the MC campus. Area musicians who play a wind or percussion instrument are encouraged to audition. Serious high school participants are also welcome. Band members include working musicians, educators, college students, business professionals and retirees from throughout East Tennessee.

The group will perform a Feb. 11 chamber concert at 2 p.m. in the Harold and Jean Lambert Recital Hall of the Clayton Center, and a full band performance at 2 p.m. April 7 in the Nutt Theatre. New community members may be required to complete a successful audition to join the ensemble. For additional details or to schedule an audition, please complete the form at: www.maryvillecollege.edu/academics/divisions/fine-arts/instrumental-programs/inquiry/.

The Orchestra at Maryville College, under the director of Dr. Ace Edewards, begins rehearsing at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 29, in the Nutt Theatre of the Clayton Center and will join forces with the MC Community Chorus for a spring concert at 7 p.m. April 23 in the Nutt Theatre.

Orchestra rehearsals will be held on Mondays from 7-9 p.m. in the Nutt Theatre. The Orchestra at Maryville College uses standard woodwind/brass instrumentation. Audition requirements for wind players/percussionists include scales, standard orchestra excerpts and sight-reading. String players are not required to audition.

One of the two Maryville College Youth Choirs, the Scottie Singers, begin rehearsals at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6, under the direction of Hannah White Strong ’18. A choral ensemble for students in grades three through seven, the Scottie Singers will rehearse at 4 p.m. on Tuesdays in the Harry H. Harter Choral Rehearsal Room of the Clayton Center.

At 4 p.m. Feb. 8, the Highlander Chorale — the second MC youth choir for students in grades eight through 12 — will begin spring rehearsals in the Harry H. Harter Choral Rehearsal Room. The ensemble will practice from 4-5:30 p.m. on Thursdays under the direction of Strong, and alongside the Scottie Singers, the chorale will perform a spring concert at 6 p.m. April 16 in the Clayton Center’s Lambert Recital Hall.

Interested instrumental musicians may submit an inquiry via the Maryville College website at www.maryvillecollege.edu/academics/divisions/fine-arts/instrumental-programs/inquiry/.

For audition requirements, interested wind players/percussionists should contact Simpson at eric.simpson@maryvillecollege.edu.

For additional information on the Maryville College Youth Choirs, email Strong at hannah.strong@maryvillecollege.edu. Online youth choir registration can be found at https://www.maryvillecollege.edu/academics/divisions/fine-arts/choral-programs/youth-choirs/.

For more information on the MC Community Chorus, contact Stacey Wilner, director of choral activities at Maryville College, 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.”