Invitational Workshop with ASE at MC!

The students selected to participate in this year's Winter Invitational Workshop with the MC Concert Choir are in for a treat! The American Spiritual Ensemble will be working with the MC Concert Choir during the week of January 18-21, leading up to their concert at the Clayton Center for the Arts on Friday, January 21st, at 8 PM. Tickets are still on sale, so be sure to get yours today!*

*For prospective students that have been invited by the choral department, you are provided with TWO comped tickets to the performance! To obtain these tickets, please contact Hannah Strong, Choral Assistant, via email at hannah.strong@maryvillecollege.edu to be connected with Box Office personnel.

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Workshop Schedule, Jan 18-21

Click on the arrows below to see more details about these events!

12-12:50pm | Wednesday, Jan 19 | Workshop with the Choir!

Join guest clinicians Dr. John Wesley Wright, Tenor, and Angela Owens, Soprano, as they work with the Maryville College Concert Choir. Location will be in the Harry H. Harter Choir Room

12:20-1:10pm | Thursday, Jan 20 | Workshop with the Small Ensembles!

Join guest clinicians Dr. John Wesley Wright, Tenor, and Angela Owens, Soprano, as they work with the Maryville College Small Ensembles: the Lads and Lassies. The Lads will work in the Lambert Recital Hall with Dr. Wright, and the Lassies will work in the Choir Room with Ms. Owens.

12-12:50pm | Friday, Jan 21 | Workshop with the Choir!

Join guest clinician Dr. Everett McCorvey, Tenor, who will work with the Maryville College Concert Choir. The location will be the Harry H. Harter Choir Room.

2:00-3:00pm | Friday, Jan 21 | Q/A Discussion with ASE!

Applied Topics with our MC Music Majors. This specific class will feature a panel of members from the American Spiritual Ensemble for a Question & Answer session.

Q/A Panelists: Dr. McCorvey, Dr. Wright, Ms. Owens, and guests

8pm | Friday, Jan 21 | American Spiritual Ensemble Concert

The American Spiritual Ensemble (ASE) is composed of some of the finest classically trained vocalists in the United States. The ASE roster of over 100 singers includes New York Metropolitan Opera soloists, New York Broadway veterans, and over 10 professors of voice from colleges and universities across the United States. Founded in 1995 by Dr. Everett McCorvey, the group has given over 500 performances around the globe.

The mission of ASE is to aid in the preservation of the American Negro Spiritual. Consequently, through the ongoing live presentation and recording of this American folk music, the classically trained voices of ASE beautifully capture the haunting genius of these folk melodies.

Above all, spirituals are the folk songs of the American Negro Slave. When Africans were brought to America as slaves, they lost their traditional music as well as their freedom. As a result, they added African chants, rhythms, and harmonies to the Christian songs they learned and created spirituals. As a result, today, people sing spirituals to raise their spirits, strengthen their faith, and create a sense of community.

The mission of ASE is to aid in the preservation of the American Negro Spiritual. Thus, through the ongoing live presentation and recording of this American folk music, the classically trained voices of ASE beautifully capture the haunting genius of these folk melodies.

Give a listen to their beautiful performance of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from 2018. ➦