Vocal Ensembles

Chamber Singers

The Nazareth College Chamber Choir is an elite mixed ensemble consisting of approximately 20 to 25 singers. Members are chosen by audition. For auditions, students are required to sing a prepared art song of their choice, the National Anthem (a cappella), and sight-read. The Chamber Choir sings a variety of chamber choral literature spanning all eras, styles and genres.

The ensemble performs four to five times per semester and participates in an international tour at least once every other year during the spring semester.

The Chamber Choir is open to all members of the Nazareth Campus regardless of their academic discipline. The Chamber Choir rehearses on Mondays 5:00-5:50 pm, Wednesdays 4:00-4:450 pm, and Thursdays 4:15-5:45 pm.

For more information please contact:
Dr. Mark Zeigler, conductor (585)389-2693
mzeigle8@naz.edu

 

Men's Chorus and Women's Chorus

The Nazareth College Men's Chorus and Women's Chorus are a community mixed chorus consisting of approximately 70 to 80 singers. No audition is necessary. The Choirs sing a variety of choral literature spanning all eras, styles and genres. The ensembles perform two to three times per semester and participates in an international tour at least once every other year during the spring semester.

The choirs are open to all members of the Nazareth Campus regardless of their academic discipline. The choirs rehearses on Mondays from 6:00-8:00 pm.

For more information please contact:
Dr. Mark Zeigler, conductor (585) 389-2693
mzeigle8@naz.edu

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Exchange Program with University of Rzeszow, Poland

Nazareth choir in the Wieliczka salt mine in Krakow, Poland

The Department of Music is excited to announce that a recent trip to Poland featuring the Nazareth Choir and several Nazareth music faculty is now leading to the early stages of an exchange program between Nazareth College and the University of Rzeszow, Poland. The College is planning to bring a Polish college choir here this fall, and Nazareth has been invited to return for a series of major performances in Poland and Hungary in 2011. There are also early plans to expand the exchange program to include other departments at both institutions.

"Nazareth's Department of Music has long been a place where strong teachers, therapists, performers, scholars and liberal arts students have been educated, nurtured and transformed into musicians who will be leaders in their vocations," said James Douthit, DMA, chair of Nazareth's Department of Music. "I believe this trip and the impressions made by our department are tangible pieces of evidence that the world is beginning to discover something we've known for a long time: The Nazareth College Department of Music has a transformational effect—on the lives of our students and in turn our local regional, and now, worldwide community."

The Nazareth College Choir trip took place this spring semester, and was organized by Zbigniew Granat, PhD, assistant professor of music at Nazareth, who is from Poland. "Dr. Granat organized the trip to perfection," said Douthit. This was his home turf and he did more than his fair share to make sure the performances were well-received and attended, that the audience understood our text, that our students experienced the new culture, and that our faculty were fully introduced to leaders in the community and in the arts."

The Nazareth Choir, organized by Mark Zeigler, PhD, performed three major concerts in Poland at the Theodor Leszetycki School of Music in Lancut, the La Salette Church in Rzeszow, and the Institute of Music of the University of Rzeszow. The repertoire included Mozart"s Regina Coeli, Randall Thompson"s setting of Robert Frost's Poetry, Aaron Copland"s Stomp Your Foot, and two gospel pieces presented in authentic style. Douthit and Nazareth voice faculty members Soo Yeon Kim and JJ Hudson also traveled and performed with the group, along with Nazareth pianist Sarah Rhee.

The success of the trip has garnered an invitation for Nazareth to return in a couple years where the choir will combine with the Institute of Music Choral Ensembles to sing with the Rzeszow Philharmonia in its newly remodeled performance hall. Douthit has been invited to perform two concertos with the Rzeszow orchestra, and faculty members Kim and Hudson have been invited to return as soloists.

Founded in 1924, Nazareth College is a coeducational college with undergraduate and graduate studies in the liberal arts and sciences and professional programs in health and human services, education, and management. The College is located on 150 scenic acres near Rochester, New York, and currently enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students. Nazareth has a strong commitment to experience-based learning and civic engagement. In the past decade, Nazareth has produced 18 Fulbright recipients and two Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowships. For more information on the College, visit www.naz.edu.

Nazareth Choir performing at the Theodor Leszetycki School of Music in Lancut

Nazareth College Choir Samples from Poland
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