University Singers with guest artists and orchestra present Considering Matthew Shepard -a modern oratorio by Craig Hella Johnson on Friday, April 14, 2023 at 8pm in Old Cabell Hall.

Tickets are $15 for the general public, $13 for UVA Faculty & Staff, $5 for Students and Free for UVA Students who reserve in advance. Tickets may be purchased at the UVA Arts Box Office , (434) 924-3376 or at the door one hour prior to the concert.

Old Cabell Hall is located on the south end of UVA’s historic lawn, directly opposite the Rotunda. (map) Parking is available in the central grounds parking garage on Emmet Street, in the C1 parking lot off McCormick Rd, and in the parking lots at the UVA Corner. Handicap parking is available in the small parking lot adjacent to Bryan Hall.

All programs are subject to change.

For more information please call the Department of Music at 434.924.3052.

More on this concert when it becomes available.

The University Singers is the University of Virginia’s flagship choral ensemble, heard by thousands each season in performances of a cappella and accompanied choral repertoire, including major works with orchestra. In 2017, the group joined the Charlottesville Symphony on the steps of the Rotunda to perform for UVA’s Bicentennial Launch Celebration, before an estimated crowd of 20,000. In 2018, the University Singers gave the regional premiere of Bernstein’s Mass at the Paramount Theatre, the group’s largest project to date. In recent years, the Singers have also sung for Les Misérables creators Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil during their UVA residencies, sung for the 2016 UVA Holiday greeting, which received more than 400,000 views on social media, and taken a two-week concert tour of England, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Austria. During the pandemic, they continued to present virtual performances, and hosted online master classes with Eric Whitacre, Alice Parker, and other choral luminaries.

Founded in 1957, the group became a primarily student ensemble soon after UVA began admitting women in 1970, and celebrated their 60th anniversary with the 2017-2018 season. Historical highlights have included concerts and workshops with Bobby McFerrin, Meredith Monk, and Otto-Werner Mueller, a performance for Hillary Clinton, a performance for the 2010 VMEA Conference, and frequent collaborations with the Charlottesville Symphony including for the popular Family Holiday Concerts. Recent repertoire has included Beethoven’s Symphony no. 9 with the Charlottesville Symphony, Bach's Mass in B minor, Handel’s Messiah, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Verdi’s Requiem, and Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem, premieres of works by Stephen Paulus, Forrest Pierce, Judith Shatin, and Eric Whitacre, and a program featuring African-American composers such as Nathaniel Dett, Moses Hogan, and H.T Burleigh. Recent North American tours have taken the group to Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Charleston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Montreal, New Orleans, Orlando, New York City, Philadelphia, Providence, Toronto, and the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. The group has also been heard on previous tours in Italy, Belgium, Germany, Russia, and Switzerland, and recordings include a CD of Mozart's Coronation Mass and Vesperae Solennes de Confessore. The 2021-2022 season includes collaborations with the Oratorio Society of Virginia, and a program celebrating 50 years of women at UVA.

Students in the University Singers come from UVA's eight undergraduate schools, including Arts and Sciences, Education, Batten, Commerce, Nursing, and Engineering, as well as several of the graduate and professional schools. While approximately 25-30% are music majors, the ensemble is open to any student by audition, and is a for-credit curricular class. Together, members enjoy an esprit de corps that arises from the pursuit of musical excellence, and the camaraderie the singers develop offstage. The University Singers is led by faculty conductor Michael Slon.

For more info, you can also visit our new expanded website: https://usingers.virginia.edu/

Recent highlights: Bernstein's Mass / Bicentennial Performance / 2016 Holiday Video / 2019 University Singers Tour

To contact the group directly write: university-singers@virginia.edu

For the most updated event information, please visit https://music.virginia.edu/USingers-Considering-Matthew-Shepard