January 2006

ALUMNI NEWS

Choir Alumni Invited to Campus for Special Reunion

Whether you haven't sung a note since you left AU or your performance schedule is booked solid through next year, if you were a member of any of the AU choral ensembles while you were here, you'll want to mark your calendar for April 28-30. More than a year in the planning, the AU Choral Reunion promises to reunite singers of all ages to celebrate more than 70 years of choral history at AU. The final performance of the weekend will be held in the Abramson Family Recital Hall at the new Katzen Arts Center, too.

Organized under the leadership of current AU Music Director & Director of Choral Activities Daniel Abraham, the weekend will include rehearsals and performances led by Abraham as well as former director Vito Mason.

Daniel Abraham, conductor photos by Jeff Watts

"It is a thrill to think that we could have more than seven generations of choral alumni come and perform together in our new Katzen Arts Center," says Abraham. "To hear singers who worked under Dr. James McLain, Vito Mason, Norman Scribner, Paul Hill, and so many other fine conductors raise their voices together will be such a joy and celebration of the tradition of choral excellence at American University. This is a great opportunity for our current students to really understand that they are part of a real heritage of great music making," adds Abraham.

Reunion attendees will rehearse throughout the weekend and present a program alongside the current AU Chorus on Sunday. The evening before, chorus alums will be treated to a concert of the AU Chorus and Symphony Orchestra featuring Mendelssohn's Calm Seas and Prosperous Voyage Overture, a performance with the winner of the 2006 AU Concerto Competition, and Mendelssohn's great choral-orchestral Symphony No. 2, "Lobgesang."

In addition, a special tribute will be paid to AU Chorus Founder James L. McLain, for whom a memorial choral endowment is being established. McLain passed away in September 2004, and the university is establishing the fund to enhance the choral experience at AU for future generations of students. "Following the ideals established by Dr. McLain and sustained by the many outstanding choral directors who have led this program, the endowment will continue the consistent tradition of choral excellence and enhance the program with additional opportunities for national and international touring as well as scholarships for deserving choral students," says Abraham, who began his tenure as AU choral director in 2000.

Singers who plan to attend should register by March 20. A preliminary letter was mailed to all choral and music alumni in November. A full brochure for the event will be mailed in February. If you believe you were not included in the November mailing, please forward your information to chorus@american.edu or call 202-885-3425.

Registration is $100 per person for the entire weekend of activities, and includes sheet music, social events including dinner with College of Arts and Sciences Dean Kay Mussell, and a ticket to the AU Chorus and Symphony performance.

For more information, contact the AU Choral Ensemble office at 202-885-3425 or e-mail chorus@american.edu.

-Melissa Reichley

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