The University Singers

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 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 2018-2019 season began with performances of Bernstein’s Mass at the Paramount Theater as part of the Leonard Bernstein centennial, and 2021-2022 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, Nursing, and Engineering, as well as several of the graduate and professional schools. While approximately 25% 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 arising from the pursuit of musical excellence, and the camaraderie the singers develop offstage.

For more info visit: http://music.virginia.edu/usingers
Auditions: Auditions for the University Singers take place at the beginning of each semester.
To make a gift: https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/21729/donations/new
or write the ensemble at: university-singers@virginia.edu

UVA University Singers Fall 2021

Michael Slon, Director
Deke Polifka, Assistant Conductor
Deke Polifka & Karen Dalton, Accompanists

Sopranos

Rachel Bohannon
Lizzy Brandberg
Hannah Brockhausen
Abby Burijon
Corey Comba
Rosalie Daval
Elise Ebert*
Claire Huchthausen
Julianne Jaegle
Rose Kelly
Yumi Kim
Neha Krishnakumar
Andrea Tache Lopez
Greta Marle
Isabela Motta
Erin Murphy
Meaghan Nuckols
Cathryn Palmer
Talia Pirron
Mia Puccio
Emma Radcliff
Hannah Slayton
Colleen Vick
Ellen Woodard

Altos

Bethany Bazemore
Audrey Blanchard
Sophia Briscombe
Anna Brule
Noelle Buice
Khuyen Dinh
Lily Frautschi*
Lucie Ide
Amanda Kopf
Maddy Martin
Isabella Mehrotra
Allison Metcalf
Harini Peri
Julia Preston
Laura Read
Caroline Roden
Abigail Ronsonet
Claire Satterfield
Holly Teti
Hannah Thompson
Abby Uveges
Megan Vandré
Madeline Velez
Julia Watts
Annie Webber
Cheryl Wilfred

Tenors

Dean Barton
Tarun Donipati
Joshua Eiger
Jesse Hernandez
Miles Jackson*
Jack Kehoe
Patrick Kilgannon
Lewis Kothman
Luke McClorey
Jacob Moore
Isaac Peabody
John Purtill
Ethan Sheffield
Vaheed Talebian
Peter Tessier
Ben Trombetta

Basses

Andrew Alexis
Anthony Asuncion*
Michael Bowler
Brian Christner
Thomas Davis
Kevin Duan
David Gepitulan
Andy Heil
Matthew Kim
Christopher Kwon
Nick Martinez
Hunter McGuire
Harrison Monahan
Carson Peters
Nick Porter
Jack Siegel
Eric Weng

*Section Leader

University Singers Officers

President: Harini Peri
General Manager: Ben Trombetta
Concert Manager: Anna Brule
Secretary: Bethany Bazemore
Fundraising Chair: Abby Uveges
Stage Managers: Corey Comba & Kevin Duan
Publicity Chairs: Hannah Brockhausen & Laura Read
Social Chairs: Jacob Moore & Vaheed Talebian
New Member Coordinator: Jacob Moore
Tour Managers: Jack Kehoe & Meaghan Nuckols
Librarian: Julianne Jaegle
Historian: Julia Preston
Alumni Liaisons: Katie Schneider &
Thomas Sumner

Charlottesville Symphony Society Annual Fund Contributors

Please click here to view the list of donors who have made gifts since December 3, 2020 in support of the orchestra’s musicians, performances, and education and outreach programs.  We thank them for their generosity and confidence in our mission!

Charlottesville Symphony Society

2021-22 Board of Directors

William H. vonReichbauer, President
Mary Buckle Searle, Vice President
Robert M. Conroy, Treasurer
Linda Smith, Secretary
Signe G. Bowling
J. Thomas Brown
Scott Colley
Charles M. Grisham
Janet Kaltenbach, ex-officio
Karl Hagstrom Miller, ex-officio
Kay C. Parker
Rosalyn Preston
Benjamin Rous, ex-officio
Missy Shenkir
Kelly Sulick, ex-officio
Cary Turner
Richard Will

Emeritus Directors

Robin D. Baliles
Johanna Chase
Patricia F. Davis
Jason I. Eckford (in memoriam 2016)
Robert L. Elliott
Thomas C. MacAvoy (in memoriam 2015)

Orchestra Administration

Janet Kaltenbach, Executive Director
Ryan MacPherson, Director of Development
Elizabeth Roberts, Director of Youth Education
Keith Perry, Administrative Manager
Ilon Weeldreyer, Production Manager
Michael Ozment, Music Librarian
Edwina Herring, MLKPAC House Manager
Carly Cuje, Stagehand
Ali Shama, Stagehand

McIntire Department of Music

Karl Hagstrom Miller, Chair

Department Administration

Marcy Day, Director of Promotions
Joel Jacobus, Director of Music Production
Tina Knight, Assistant to the Chair and Academic Program Coordinator
Kim Turner, Finance and Administration Manager
Leslie Walker, Administrative Assistant

The 2021-22 season is made possible in part by a major gift from