The University of Rochester's University Choir will make its second appearance abroad with an 11-day sojourn in Italy beginning Monday, May 15. Thirty-two students and their director will present three public concerts as part of the trip. The choir will be conducted by Thomas Folan, Director of Choral Activities in the College Music Program at the River Campus.
The University Choir, a mixed chorus of approximately 65 members, will perform an extensive repertoire of motets, anthems, madrigals, and spirituals in locations such as Arezzo, Lucca, Bologna, and Venice. The trip will also include sightseeing and touring of other famous cities on the Italian peninsula.
"There is no substitute for performing music in the kind of acoustic for which it was written," said Folan. "That opportunity will be afforded to the UR choir during this trip to Italy."
This is the University Choir's second trip abroad, the group having toured Wales in 1995.
"The choir's chance to interact with another culture is a very important aspect of the trip," Folan explained. "Seeing the art, architecture, and landscape of the country, experiencing the cuisine, and hearing the language all contribute to a total aesthetic experience which I hope every student enjoys."
The choir raised money for its trip in a variety of ways. The group sang at the traditional Boar's Head Dinner in December as well as the annual Viennese Ball in the fall. The choir is also raffling off a number of gift certificates for dinners in local Italian restaurants.
During the school year, the choir performs numerous concerts in Strong Auditorium on the River Campus. The group has also performed in the Eastman Theater with the Eastman Rochester Chorus.
The choir will be visiting and performing in Arezzo on the first leg of the trip. The University of Rochester and the University of Siena (located in Arezzo) have a formal agreement of mutual collaboration that includes faculty exchanges and special benefits for University of Rochester visiting students studying in Arezzo.