The Dolores Doré Eccles Fine Arts Center at Dixie State University will be filled with many different tunes this week as Dixie State University singers take the stage on two different occasions.
Over the course of two days, there will be four different groups of DSU singers performing in the Concert Hall.
The audience can expect to hear from both the Men’s Choir and Women’s Choir on Thursday. The Concert Choir and Chamber Singers will then perform on Friday. The performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. each night.
Audience members can expect to hear a wide range of vocal performances, music assistant professor Roger Hale said. Songs will be sung in different languages, including Chinese, French, Latin and English.
The program also features a more modern piece, which will hopefully reach a wider audience, Hale said. The Chamber Singers will once again perform “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz. The choir performed this piece at the seventh annual DSU Convocation earlier this year.
The modern piece will feature a guest drummer, Hale said. The type of drum used for this piece is called a cajon drum, which the drummer actually sits atop while playing. The sound produced by the drum will imitate that of a beat boxer, he said.
The audience can also expect to see music from a wide variety of time periods, Hale said. The Men’s Choir will perform a song from the 1500s titled “Natus Est Nobis.” The musical selection is arranged by Jacob Handl.
Not only is there a great variation in musical selection, but there is also a great range of musical ability within the choir, Hale said. The current Concert Choir is the largest to be featured at DSU. With 62 singers in the choir there is a lot of diversity to choose from and showcase, Hale said.
The amount of singers will make it easier for the choir to improve because there is so much talent to draw from, said Andrew Swan, a sophomore music major from Tooele. Swan is a member of the Concert Choir.
“When there are only so many people involved there is a limit of how far you can go,” Swan said. “With more people there is more potential.”
A large concert choir isn’t the only excitement filling the concert hall this semester.
A class for male singers is now offered, Hale said. In the past DSU has lacked an official Men’s Choir class. Now, a class specifically for Men’s Choir is offered. The recently formed Men’s Choir at DSU features a double quartet, Hale said.
Hale is new to DSU as well, but is settling in nicely. After five years at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Missouri, he has moved back to Utah in an effort to be nearer to family and take advantage of the opportunity that he was given at DSU.
Hale doesn’t run the show by himself, though. The Women’s Choir is directed by adjunct Rachel Cox.
Hale hopes to increase the choir population to about 80 during his time at DSU. Any DSU student is able to join the choir, even if they aren’t music majors, he said.
Choir provides a great opportunity to meet new people and friends, Hale said.
The students have been working on the pieces for this concert since the first day of the semester, Hale said. After the concert the students will start with new, fresh pieces as they begin preparing for the December concert.
