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Under the direction of UW-Milwaukee’s new Director of Choral Activities Zachary Durlam and Assistant Director of Choirs Gloria Hansen, the Concert Chorale, Women’s Chorus, University Choir and Men’s Chorus will come together to perform the Winter Choral Concert. The concert features a wide variety of music from around the world that will enchant listeners.
Durlam says the most unique aspect of the concert is how the program is put together. “The format is different than the typical choral concert. Instead of the choirs going up on stage one after the other, we’ll have them up there at the same time, moving directly from one piece to the next between the groups. This will create great variation in timbre, from small to big choir, women to men, accompanied to a cappella and brass to percussion. There will be a lack of applause until the very end and I believe this allows an audience to lose themselves in the music a little more. It should be a very interesting experience!” Combined, the choirs add up to about 160 students.
A few highlights include the Concert Chorale’s selection titled Northern Lights, which combines a Latvian folk song with journal entries from two 19th-century arctic explorers. “Choir members will be holding tuned wine glasses to create an ethereal sound,” says Durlam. Another accent to the music will be tone chimes, which Durlam describes as similar to hand bells, though mellower and less percussive. Another piece, sung by the Women’s Chorus, is Cradle Hymn, which includes accompaniment from a string quartet. The Men’s Chorus offers a unique Nigerian folk song and all the choirs will sing together for a big finale.
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“We’ll be singing pieces written nearly 400 years ago to ones that were written a couple years ago. I think people will enjoy the variety, which will keep the performance very interesting,” says Durlam.
UWM’s Winter Choral Concert will be held Friday, Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the Helen Bader Concert Hall, 2419 E. Kenwood Blvd. For advance tickets (general admission is $12; $8 for UWM faculty/staff; all students free), call 414-229-4308.
