75 Years of the U of A Mixed Chorus
Why do people who sing together feel such a powerful connection? Singing is a completely organic form of music-making. People who sing together must breathe and think together and, within that process, the sense of feeling united with fellow choristers is palpable. Beyond the musical connection, a choir is a community - one that can provide a sense of belonging on a large campus. Providing a safe place to sing has always been one of the major goals of the University of Alberta Mixed Chorus. It is a place where members make life-long friends while singing joyfully, together.
On Saturday, April 6, at 7:30 p.m. the University of Alberta Mixed Chorus will present its 75th Annual Concert at the Francis Winspear Centre for Music. Hundreds of UAMC Alumni are traveling to Edmonton to take part in Alumni events, culminating in a concert that features choral music from Renaissance to Broadway. Some of these alumni are Mixed Chorus veterans who sang under the direction of the choir's first conductor, Gordon Clark, from 1944 to 1947.
On behalf of the members and alumni of the U of A Mixed Chorus, I invite you to come to our 75th Annual Concert on Saturday evening - tickets will be available at the door. You'll hear a wide variety of choral music and experience the lively music-making of the U of A Faculty of Education Handbell Ringers, who have been performing and touring with the UAMC since 1988. At the end of the evening, the many Mixed Chorus alumni in the audience will join the Chorus in the singing of Richard Eaton's arrangement of the "University of Alberta Cheer Song," written for the UAMC in 1948.
We hope to see you there.
- Robert de Frece
Professor Emeritus and UAMC Conductor- Robert de Frece
Professor Emeritus and UAMC Conductor
At top: UAMC in its first year, 1944-45 || Middle: Bob de Frece conducting the UAMC in 1987 (L), the UAMC in 1950 (R) || At bottom: UAMC in 1969 (L) and 1974 (R)
Robert de Frece sang in the U of A Mixed Chorus from 1967 to 71. A Professor of Music and Music Education at the U of A from 1986 until his retirement in 2008, he maintains his association with the university as Conductor of the UAMC and the U of A Faculty of Education Handbell Ringers.