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February 15, 2002

National seminar for men's choruses to be held at Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Male harmonies will resonate throughout Purdue March 1-2 when the Intercollegiate Men's Choruses National Seminar takes place on campus.

The seminar, sponsored by the Purdue Musical Organizations and the Purdue Varsity Glee Club, features clinics and performances for and by collegiate male vocal ensembles. Public performances include a concert at 8 p.m. Friday, March 1, in the Loeb Playhouse. The concert will feature three professional performances, including the 2001 international collegiate barbershop champion quartet Reprise, the Concord Ensemble, which sings renaissance music, and M-Pact, an a cappella group that sings pop music and jazz. The Purdue Varsity Glee Club, along with 10 other glee clubs, also will perform.

The seminar's grand finale will be at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 2, in the Elliott Hall of Music. It will feature a special performance by the Purdue Varsity Glee Club and more than 100 Glee Club alumni from throughout the United States. They will sing a broad range of selections, from folk to opera. Other featured performances include the U.S. Armed Services Chorus and the 2002 IMC Combined Conference Choruses, which will sing the premier performance of "What a Piece of Work is Man" by William Hawley.

Tickets for each concert are $10.50 for children and $15 for adults. Tickets for both performances are $16 for children and $26 for adults. They can be purchased by calling the box office at (765) 494-3933.

Brian Breed, PMO director, says Purdue hosted the inaugural IMC seminar in 1954, and he is thrilled to bring the conference back to campus.

"It's a big honor that we are able to provide people with the opportunity to appreciate male voice singing and the quality that is there," Breed says. "There is just something special about that male sound."

Breed says the quality of the clinics, to be conducted by nationally renowned music educators and vocalists, will be topnotch. Instructors include Indianapolis Children's Choir director Henry Leck, Vocal Majority director Jim Clancy and Frank Albinder, director of the Washington Men's Camerata.

"These are people that are brilliant in their field," Breed says. "We're proud to hold up male voice singing and have a model for men."

Breed says the public performances offer a unique opportunity to celebrate the international respect garnered by the Glee Club.

"Purdue is unique," Breed says. "This is our time to tell the Purdue story in a very special way."

The Purdue Varsity Glee Club was founded in 1893. Internationally recognized, the club has performed at four presidential inaugurations and has embarked upon nine European tours, two South Pacific tours, as well as tours of Canada, Mexico, the former Soviet Union and the Czech Republic. The group will travel to China in May.

CONTACT: Brian Breed, (765) 494-3941, bdbreed@purdue.edu; Vic Herr, PMO public relations director, (765) 496-6091, vbherr@purdue.edu.

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: The media may take photos or video footage of both concerts. Contact Vic Herr, PMO public relations director, at (765) 496-6091, to make arrangements.

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu


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