by Pete Rosenbery
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The SIU Choral Union is getting back in full swing this fall and is encouraging interested community members and those on campus to join in the festivities.
Rehearsals for the Nov. 15 concert in Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Shryock Auditorium start at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 29, and it’s not too late to register and participate, said Susan Davenport, professor and director of choral activities in the School of Music.
Registration begins at 6:30 p.m. in the hallway outside of the choir room in Altgeld Hall, Room 110. Registration is $30, and the music is $10. The choral union is a non-auditioned group.
Fall concert lineup set
The choral union’s Nov. 15 concert returns with the Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra for the first time since fall 2019 and will feature familiar pieces, though some have not been performed in many years, Davenport said. The primary work will be composer Antonio Vivaldi’s “Gloria” along with select choruses from George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah.”
Returning from COVID-19 hiatus
Davenport said she hopes that many pre-pandemic choral union members will return to sing for the concert, but resuming the choral union also provides a chance for community members along with SIU faculty, staff and students “to participate in a wonderful campus activity.”
“This is an opportunity to renew singing with old friends and start singing with new ones,” she said. “As we have come to know, singing in a community of friends is vital to our overall well-being.”
For more information on the choral union, email Davenport at sgds@siu.edu.