MSU Chamber Singers compete and win two gold medals in Rome

This summer, MSU Chamber Singers had the unique opportunity to grow as musicians and performers during a nine-day concert tour in Rome and Pompeii and competing at the Musica Roma Eterna International Choir Festival. MSU’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance is widely recognized and has a long-standing tradition of excellence. Performance opportunities for students are virtually unlimited and ensembles are known to consistently earn national and international recognition.

Throughout the nine-day tour and four-day choir competition, chamber singers presented seven performances, including a pre-competition evaluation performance for the judges, two competition performances, two friendship concerts with other international choirs, an American concert and a mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

Judges scored all the international choirs’ performances using a complex system in which each piece received individual scores for intonation and interpretation, and the entire performance received scores for difficulty of the program, program design and dramaturgy, sound of the choir, and overall artistic impression. In the compulsory competition, MSU received 23.05 points achieving a level III Gold, and in the sacred competition, MSU received 22.01 points achieving a level II Gold.

Dr. Greg Detweiler, director of choral activities at MSU, said students spent the entire spring semester preparing for the competition.

“They organized extra rehearsals throughout the semester and held two summer retreats before leaving,” he said. “These students have worked so hard. I truly feel like the luckiest man in the world to have been able to conduct such a wonderful group of singers in Rome.”

The chamber singers had opportunities to visit Rome’s piazzas and the famous Trevi fountain, in addition to touring the Sistine Chapel and several Vatican museums.

MSU choirs (University Chorus, Concert Choir and Chamber Singers) are open to all students on campus. Students do not have to be music majors to participate in choral activities.

To learn more about performance areas and ensembles at MSU, visit the School of Music, Theatre and Dance website at www.moreheadstate.edu/mtd.