USM Chamber Singers to perform March 31 in PI
PRESQUE ISLE — The University of Southern Maine Chamber Singers will perform Monday, March 31 at 6:30 p.m. at the Presque Isle Middle School auditorium. There is a $3 suggested donation to attend the concert.
Under the direction of conductor Robert Russell, the musicians of the USM Chamber Singers represent the most outstanding singers at the university. Chosen through a careful audition process and committed to choral excellence, these undergraduate students have accepted a responsibility for musical distinction through a focus on warmth of tone, precise intonation, and the artistry of understanding the nuance of text.
Throughout the northern New England region, the Chamber Singers have performed a diverse repertory centered on a cappella literature of the Renaissance era and the 20th century and music of various world cultures. In 1999, the ensemble toured Europe, performing in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and singing service music for Mass at the Karlskirche in Vienna.
The Chamber Singers received wide acclaim in 2000 for a performance of the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein with the Portland Symphony Orchestra. The ensemble toured Ireland, Wales and England in 2002, and in 2005 completed their third European tour — a trip that took them to Salzburg, Venice and Provence, including a Sunday Mass performance at St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice and a concert at the Cavaillon Cathedral. In 2008, the Singers toured Eastern Europe and in 2011 the region of Andalusia in Spain.
Russell is professor of music at USM and music director of Portland’s Choral Art Society. He has twice served the Maine American Choral Directors Association as president, and in 1993 received Maine’s Distinguished Choral Director Award.
The Singers will perform such songs as “Epitaph for Moonlight,” “My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord” and “Let Me Fly.”
Earlier in the day, the group will hold a special workshop with the PIMS chorus.
