Enjoy an Evening of Singing and Stargazing

ARS

A UA graduate student started the Arizona Repertory Singers 25 years ago.

By University Communications April 29, 2009

The Arizona Repertory Singers, in its 25th season, will present a concert and reception on the UA campus Saturday.

An evening of singing and stargazing will take place on The University of Arizona campus Saturday in celebration of the Arizona Repertory Singers' 25th season in Tucson.

The "This Shining Night" gala concert and reception will begin at 7 p.m. at the UA's Stevie Eller Dance Theatre.

UA students, alumni, employees and retirees are well-represented in the 51-member auditioned choir.

"Our roots were at The University of Arizona," said UA associate astronomer and senior lecturer Thomas Fleming, who was a graduate student at the UA when he became one of the founding members.In 1985, a music graduate student at the UA needed a group of vocalists to conduct for his doctoral exam, so he initiated the Arizona Repertory Singers, then called the Arizona Recital Choir, Fleming said. The group has been performing together ever since.  

Saturday's concert will include a range of music – from Renaissance to romantic to contemporary – including a set of commissioned a cappella works by composer Vijay Singh, an associate professor of music at Central Washington University. Singh, who will attend the concert, set three lyrical poems by 20th century American poet William Stanley Braithwaite to music for the show. The works will be dedicated to Helen Schaefer, another founding member of the choir and wife of former UA President John Paul Schaefer. The Helen S. Schaefer building, home of the UA Poetry Center, is named for her.

Following the performance, there will be a dessert reception, and astronomy students from the UA will have telescopes set up on the lawn outside the theater so concert-goers can gaze at the stars.

The latest Arizona Repertory Singers CD, "I Have Had Singing," will be available for purchase for $15. 

Tickets to Saturday's event are $25 for general seating and $50 for seats in a special reserved section. Tickets will be available at the door, but advance purchase is recommended because the show is expected to sell out, said Norma Patrick, the choir's operations manager. To purchase tickets, call 792-8141 or 299-7189.