Dr. Erin Colwitz, the Conductor for the Huntsville Master Chorale, will next be holding auditions for new singers on Monday, August 2, 2010.

The 15-minute audition will consist of testing of vocal range, ear, tonal memory, and sight-reading skills. No need to prepare anything for the audition in advance. This is simply a chance for the conductor to meet the singer and learn of his/her strengths.

If you are interested in joining the growth of the Chorale, please contact Dr. Colwitz by email at ecolwitzgmail [dot] com.

Do you have a significant other--a spouse, a sweetheart, a special someone?

We singers in the Master Chorale have a suggestion. Why not make Valentine's Day a weekend? We're presenting a concert on Friday the twelfth called Valentines and Desserts. We will toss our valentines to you and yours in the form of music. The desserts, offered by soloists from the chorale, will sweeten the evening.

As an alternative, if that date is tied up, we will sing this concert on the fifth in Meridianville at North Hills Church at 7:30 PM. You can begin celebrating the romantic day early.

Dr. Erin Colwitz, our conductor, has selected love songs of all varieties. You'll nod in agreement at some of the lyrics, smile at others, and lose yourself in the beauty of love presented through song. Contemporary composer Karl Korte's contributions include all these emotions.

The concerts are free to the public and that is certainly a bonus for the day. We always appreciate any donations offered.

We invite you to enjoy our music on Friday, February fifth, 7:30 PM, at North Hills Church in Meridianville (directions) and on Friday, February 12, 7:30 PM, at First Presbyterian Church in Huntsville (map to location).

We singers in the Huntsville Master Chorale are happy to bring you good tidings, Tidings of Joy! We'll be presenting the good news in our concert on Tuesday night, December 15 at 7:30 in the Roberts Recital Hall on the UAHuntsville campus.

Daniel Pinkham's Christmas Cantata will build the excitement of the season as you hear the Chorale with the brass instruments. The joy of Stephan Paulus's Three Nativity Carols (with oboe and harp) surely will raise your spirit a notch or two.

The mystery of The Nativity is highlighted in Arvo Pärt's Magnificat, in Gustav Holst's Nunc dimittis, and in Randall Thompson's Alleluia.

New carols and familiar carols are a part of this stunning presentation. And the inclusion of Maurice Duruflé's Notre Père, in its simplicity, may become your favorite of the evening.

It will be a splendid evening, and we hope you will join us for this celebratory event.

Tickets are available from any Chorale member and at the door.
$10 for adults
$5 for students

It was a glorious day, a sacred day.

After a week of cloudy skies and hard rain, the weather had changed. The morning sun laved the white, blossoming clouds with a golden hue. The sky verged on October blue.

A refreshing cool breeze hinted at the cooler days to come.

We drove across the Tennessee valley at midday, crossed the river and climbed up the mountain. Our trek took us through small villages and uninhabited land, scrub country really. Suddenly we turned through two columns and we entered a different world. We had reached the Bluff. Driving slowly, we absorbed the landscape, the fairy houses, the lake, and finally, up ahead, the meeting house.

We could see that some of our companions were already there. Handsome men in their elegant tuxedoes stood talking to lovely women in long black dresses, the refreshing breeze gently moving their full skirts.

We gathered in the meeting house, absorbing the beauty, the architecture, the resonance of the interior. Piano music began to soar through the hall, rising up to the rafters, foretelling how we would sound. For we were singers. We had made the journey to gather together to sing. Something sacred is in that.

As we mingled and absorbed the loveliness of our surroundings, joy and anticipation filled our conversations. No hurry, no anxiety, but a relaxed confidence permeated the group. It would be a sacred singing.

Finally, we began to collect ourselves and bring order to our delightful chaos. We mounted the risers, and began making those decidedly unlovely sounds that warm up a voice. We would be past that quickly and move to the magnificent music we had so carefully prepared to sing.

The Bluff hosts arrived, welcoming us, catering to our needs.

The people arrived, our listeners.

It was time. We lined up on the steps, and suddenly became, instead of thirty five individual people, a unit of one, each part fulfilling its role.

Established members of the Master Chorale are so pleased to have new members joining us. Auditions have paid off and we have a fuller and grander sound. Dr. Colwitz has us wrapped around her little finger. We hasten to do whatever she says. The progress is evident.

The September twenty-fifth program has stretched to an encore performance at Gorhams Bluff on Sand Mountain. It will be Sunday, September 27 at 3 PM. It is such a lovely place for such lovely music.

NIGHT takes center place in our concerts. Gorgeous music by Brahms and Mozart; impressive pieces by Josef Rheinberger and Hugo Wolf; folk songs about night; several arrangements of the same words. We are especially enjoying James Agee’s poem, "Sure on this Shining Night." (You might remember him as the lyricist of "Knoxville 19-- something or other," another beautiful musical treatment of Agee’s words.) It is hard to know if we prefer the version scored by Samuel Barber or the one by Morten Lauridsen. You will have to question each of the singers, I guess. My choice? It changes as we sing.

As we meet for rehearsal, we take pleasure in the process. (At least up to this point! Be kind, O Mighty One.) And of course, the concert just magnifies all the thrill and excitement of the weekly enjoyment.

It will be our pleasure to sing for you.

--Sara McDaris

(See our list of upcoming performances to learn where we'll be performing this season.)

The Huntsville Master Chorale is pleased to announce its performance schedule for the 2009-2010 season. To take a look, just click the "upcoming performances" link at the top of the page under "Come hear us!"

Following a selection process filled with qualified candidates and a very tough decision, we are pleased to announce the new music director of the Huntsville Master Chorale, Dr. Erin Colwitz. Follow the link, or browse to our "About Us" page to learn more about Dr. Colwitz!

The singers of the Huntsville Master Chorale are excited about the upcoming concert. We will be premiering a composition written for the Chorale by local composer, Bryan Page. He was commissioned by the Chorale to compose an extended piece in honor of Hannah Marguerite Wright and Gregory Marshall Wright, Junior for the joy they bring to their parents' hearts. We wish for more children who bring joy to their parents' hearts (and elicit commissioned choral music).

The exciting work is titled Songs of Love and Loss. We singers are glad we learned to count in kindergarten. We need that skill as we try to keep up with Bryan Page's notes and rhythms. He has thrown us a real challenge as he continually changed the meter. He has scored the music to the love poems of E. E. Cummings, a challenge within itself. We have grown to the task and are enjoying its demands. It has an unusual combination of instruments for accompaniment - the horn, the harp and the cello.

The title of Bryan's commissioned work could not be more fitting for this spring concert. This will be the last concert conducted by our director, Tom Dooling. He is leaving us for Texas. Now how can that be? Tom has selected a fresh and varied program to compliment Bryan's commissioned work. Some are familiar, like Robert Burns' My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose and Lauridson's Dirait-on from his Chanson des Roses. You’ll be humming that melody for a week. His favorite selection is Songs Eternity by Stephan Paulus. This contemporary piece contrasts the women's voices with the piano, and Sharon Keffer will shine as she plays a duo role with the vocal sounds.

There will be farewell songs, like the musical setting of Major Sullivan Ballou's last letter home before his Civil War death. Another will be Dan Forrest's Oread Farewell, premiered in 2007. We singers can dedicate that one to our director.

We’re looking forward to the concert. Put the date on your calendar: April 24, 7:30 PM at Covenant Presbyterian Church on Drake Avenue in Huntsville (map to location). You, the public, are welcome. Come celebrate with us.

Director of the Huntsville Master Chorale, Tom Dooling, has accepted a position in San Antonio, Texas. Tom's final concert with the Chorale will be on April 24th at Covenant Presbyterian Church on Drake Avenue at 7:30 PM. The Chorale has grown immensely during his three-year tenure and he will be missed.

The Huntsville Master Chorale invites you to join us for our Christmas 2008 concert:

"Come We Joyous, All Together"

Tuesday, December 16 at 7:30 p.m., First Presbyterian Church, 301 Gates Ave. (map to location)

A sparkling evening of song, story and dance with Pat Blackwell’s Whitesburg Middle School Girls Chorus. Featuring renowned storyteller and Chorale soprano Sara McDaris as narrator.

No admission fee; donations gratefully accepted