Syracuse University Singers to Tour France

Tuesday, August 26, 2014, By Erica Blust

The Syracuse University Singers will embark on its first international tour next summer thanks to a generous gift from an anonymous donor.

University Singers

Syracuse University Singers

The choir will travel to France May 25-June 4, 2015, with stops in Paris, Chartres, Tours, Rheims and Strasbourg. The final concert will be hosted by the Conservatoire de Strasbourg, which has a continuing relationship with the Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music in the .

“The students of University Singers have always dreamed of going on an international performance tour,” says Associate Professor John Warren, the ensemble’s conductor and director of choral activities in the Setnor School. “I have been a part of tours at other schools where the students pay for the entire trip, and only those who can afford it get to go. This amazing gift will make the trip much more affordable for every student—what a fabulous opportunity! Having the entire choir rehearse and grow together all year before performing abroad also makes for a better musical experience. We all are so excited.”

“We are so fortunate to have such a generous donor,” says Setnor School of Music Director Patrick Jones. “Such gifts make a huge difference by allowing us to enhance the educational experience of students in ways that would otherwise be impossible for us to provide.”

For nearly 50 years the University Singers have upheld a rich tradition of excellence in choral singing characteristic of the most select vocal musicians of the Setnor School of Music. The choir has been invited to sing for multiple conferences of the American Choral Directors Association, including its recent appearance at the 2014 Eastern Division Conference in Baltimore. Additionally, the ensemble has toured throughout the east coast of the U.S. and Canada.

The ensemble is comprised of 32-40 undergraduate and graduate students from a variety of disciplines and regularly performs with professional orchestras in Syracuse. Recent masterworks include the Requiems by Brahms, Fauré and Verdi; Beethoven’s 9th Symphony; Mahler’s 2nd Symphony; and Haydn’s “The Creation.”

For more information, contact 315-443-4106 or suchoral@syr.edu. Connect with Syracuse University Choirs on and Twitter or visit .