UTC Chamber SingersIF YOU GO
* What: UTC Chamber Singers Concert.* When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 23.* Where: Christ Episcopal Church, 663 Douglas St.* Admission: Free.* Phone: 423-425-4601.
While their peers spent spring break sunning on the beaches of Florida, 19 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga students were singing their way across Western Europe.
The UTC Chamber Singers gave performances in Budapest, Hungary, Prague and Vienna last week. They'll share that program with friends and family here during a free homecoming concert at Christ Episcopal Church on Saturday night, March 23.
Dr. Kevin Ford, director, said that in Prague the singers performed a joint concert at St. Salvator Church with the Czech women's choir, Cantoria Praha. In Vienna, they held a midday performance at St. Stephen's Cathedral, then performed at a friendship concert at Austria's Barnabitenkirche.
A highlight of their tour, he said, was the opportunity to sing in St. Stephens Basilica in Budapest for a Sunday service. The singers opened with Stephen Paulus' "Hymn to the Eternal Flame" and "Pilgrim's Hymn." They included Gyorgy Orban's "Ave Maria" before closing with Laszlo Halmos' "Jubilate Deo."
The singers shared their Southern roots with their audiences through two spirituals arranged by UTC Professor Roland Carter: "In Bright Mansions Above" and "You Must Have That True Religion," featuring soprano soloist Laura Wilkerson.
Other tour highlights to be presented during the concert, he said, will be the "Chichester Mass" by William Albright and "a unique 'Da Pacem Domine' made up of composers from all over the world."
Contact staff writer Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.