Michigan State University Children's Choir

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The Michigan State University Children's Choir (MSUCC) is a Grammy Award-winning children's choir located in East Lansing, Michigan. It is directed by Mary Alice Stollak, with Judy Kabodian as the accompanist. Most choristers in the choir come from the CMS Singers. The choir has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Orchestra Hall in Detroit, Symphony Center in Chicago, and the Kennedy Center, in Washington D.C. In 2006, the choir won two Grammys for their contributions to William Bolcom's Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Best Choral Performance and Best Classical Album .

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[edit] History

Founded in 1993, the choir's founder and director is Mary Alice Stollak. She is currently Director of Choral Activities for MSU's Community Music School, leading three of the four treble choirs which comprise the school's choral program. Stollak has led the MSU Children's Choir in performances at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Detroit's Orchestra Hall, and Chicago's Symphony Center. In 2002, Stollak and the MSU Children's Choir were the official U.S. representative to the 6th World Symposium on Choral Music. In June, 2007, she and the choir performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. with their acompanist, Judy Kabodian.

On October 27, 2007, the choir performed a small section of Carmina Burana at the Wharton Center. Two months later, on December 16, they performed with the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, which was taped by WKAR Broadcasting for a Christmas Special.

In January 14-15, 2008, they recorded a Christmas Special with WKAR recording studios. It will first air on Christmas, 2008.

On March 12, they performed in the Cello Plus World Series with Suren Bagratuni.

[edit] Recordings

The Michigan State University Children's Choir has recorded several albums:

  1. Songs from the Heart
  2. What Sweeter Music
  3. A Classic Christmas
  4. America the Beautiful: Songs of Our Heritage
  5. Rejoice!, traditional Christmas music recorded in the historic chapel of the School Sisters of St. Francis, Milwaukee
  6. Songs of Sorrow, Songs of Hope, containing works with texts written by children caught in the Holocaust and in the Bosnian war
  7. Songs of Innocence and Of Experience – A Musical Illustration of the Poems of William Blake by William Bolcolm
  8. This Joy!


[edit] Retiring

 The founding director, Mary Alice Stollak, will be retiring in 2009, after a farewell concert in the Wharton Center.  Rollo Dilworth will be

commissioning a piece with text from the bible, and conduct it at the farewell concert.

[edit] External links

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