SU Women’s Choir hosts seventh annual Invitational Women’s Choir Festival Oct. 17; event culminates with free concert

The Syracuse University Women’s Choir, under the direction of Barbara M. Tagg, faculty member in the Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA), will host the seventh annual Invitational Women’s Choir Festival on Saturday, Oct. 17, at the Setnor School. The daylong event of rehearsals and master classes will culminate in a free public concert at 2 p.m. in the Rose and Jules R. Setnor Auditorium, Crouse College. Parking is available in the Irving Garage.

Invited choirs include the Westhill High School Women’s Choir under the direction of Joseph Buchmann and the Cortland High School Women’s Choir under the direction of Jennifer Rafferty.

The public concert will feature the participating choirs individually and a combined choir of more than 100 singers. Paul Caldwell, artistic director of the Youth Choral Theater of Chicago, will serve as guest conductor. Works to be performed include those by Vijay Singh, Ysaye Barnwell, Bob Chilcott and Lori-Anne Dolloff. Featured works by Caldwell—who is also a composer with Sean Ivory—include “Joshua,” which will be performed by the SU Women’s Choir with Carl Burdick, trumpet, and Fiona Andrews, accompanist. The concert will culminate with the 100-voice combined choirs singing Caldwell and Ivory’s “Grace Fell Like the Rain” and “Ani Ma’amin” with Juan Velasquez, violin.

For more information, contact Tagg at (315) 443-5750 or btagg@syr.edu.