UT Holiday Choral Concert: No Room in the Inn

If you managed to find a seat in the Cox Auditorium for the University of Tennessee Holiday Choral Concert on Tuesday evening, you were one of the lucky ones. But more on that later.

Four UT music ensembles took part in the concert: the Women’s Chorale, the Men’s Chorale, the Chamber Singers, and the Concert Choir. Although the very entertaining concert covered a broad range of holiday music—traditional carols to P.D.Q. Bach—I will mention a few of the highlights. Frank La Rocca’s 2003 work, O magnum mysterium, was beautifully sung by the Chamber Singers under Angela Batey. The most interesting piece of the evening was an intriguing arrangement of Silent Night performed with the addition of sign language by the Concert Choir. After the familiar verse was established with a solo by Cody Boling, the choir dispersed across the risers and the stage. The arrangement then turned into the appearance of random polyphony, still with each choir member continuing the signing of their own part. Hard to describe, really.

It was obvious as attendees arrived for the concert, that there was not enough room in the Cox Auditorium to accommodate both the choir members (who must sit in the audience prior to their time to perform) and the audience of students and the vast number of non-student visitors. Prior to starting, Dr. Batey, noting the unexpected turnout, had to encourage the audience to free-up untaken seats so that some of the standees could find seats. The key word here is expectations.

While academic performance programs will continue whether ten people show up—or hundreds—there are obvious benefits to achieving as large a following as possible. Obviously, it motivates the performers. But of equal importance, it expands the sense of the vitality of the local cultural scene. If properly positioned, UT Music with its quality performances, should have no reason not to expect substantial audiences from now on.