Released January 28, 2005

HATTIESBURG – To be invited to sing in front of one’s peers can be a daunting experience yet highly complimentary.

The Southern Chorale at The University of Southern Mississippi will have another opportunity for national exposure as they have been invited to perform at the biennial national convention of the American Choral Directors Association Feb. 2-5, 2005, in Los Angeles, Calif., an event boasting more than 7,000 choral directors and students from across the United States.

Accepting the invitation in June 2004, Dr. Gregory Fuller, director of choral activities at Southern Miss, has been anticipating the trip for months. Much preparation has been invested, including raising money to provide travel for the choir’s 55 members.

“Preparing for this trip has been challenging for all of us but truly a labor of love,” Fuller said. “This is one of the highest honors attainable in choral music. The students also will have the chance to interact with their peers and learn more about the professional side of their chosen career.”

The Southern Miss entourage leaves Hattiesburg Tuesday, Feb. 1, and will return Sunday, Feb. 6. They will perform two concerts at the recently opened Walt Disney World Concert Hall and one concert at Wilshire Christian Church.

In addition to performing for convention goers, the choral students will be featured at a Southern Miss alumni reception to be held in their honor Thursday, Feb. 3, at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel.

“I’m excited about this opportunity to perform with this choir in Los Angeles,” said graduate student Robert Bradley of Greeneville, Tenn. “I performed at a national ACDA convention with East Tennessee State University in 1999 as an undergraduate.”

Bradley said his first trip to ACDA was a “fun experience” but he knows this one will mean more to the members of this choir as artists. “In 1999, it was a humbling experience for me to know I was on the same concert program with the St. Olaf Choir, one of the premier college choirs in the United States. The Southern Chorale is equally as good, and we want to let everyone else in on our secret.”

The choir is composed of junior and senior voice majors and graduate students in voice and conducting. The primary touring choir for the university, the Southern Chorale made one other appearance at an ACDA national convention in Chicago during an interest session featuring the music of James Mulholland.

Headlining the 2005 convention will be performances of Arnold Schoenberg’s “Gurrelieder” by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Master Chorale under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen, as well as performances by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

“This experience has been made possible for us by the generosity of the members of Partners for the Arts and all students of Southern Miss via the cultural arts fee,” Fuller explained. “Through Partners’ support, Southern Miss will have the chance to man a booth in the large convention exhibition to showcase our educational programs to others. We can’t thank them enough for their continued backing of our efforts.”

For more information on Southern Miss choral activities, call (601) 266-4092.

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