The Promise of Living

The MSU Concert Choir is the premier choral organization at Murray State University and enjoys an international reputation for excellence in choral music. Under the baton of Director of Choral Activities Dr. Bradley L. Almquist, the choir has sung invitational performances for the Kentucky Music Educators Association (1997, 2004); the Kentucky Choral Directors Association (1994,2000); the Southern Division Convention of the Music Educators National Conference (1997); the National Convention of the Music Educators National Conference (2002) and the Southern Division of the American Choral Directors Association (2002).

Dedicated to the study and performance of choral masterworks of all musical epochs the choir frequently appears with regional orchestras performing major choral/orchestral repertory including Brahms Requiem (2001), Walton's Belshazzar's Feast (2002), Beethoven's Mass in C Major (2003), and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (2004). In addition to standard repertory, the choir regularly commissions and/or premieres new music including Requiem da Camera (1996), Ave Maria, O Autrix Vitae (1998), and The Lamb (1999) from Buffalo composer Roland Martin; Charm Me Asleep: To Music (1998) by James Mulholland; Six Shakespearean Madrigals (1997) and Jubilate Deo by Joseph Baber (2003); and Veni, Sancte Spiritus by William Averitt (2001). During the biannual Athena Festival, celebrating music by women composers, a choral composition competition offers the choir another opportunity to perform and/or premiere new music. In 2001 the Concert Choir performed "Antiphon for a Virgin" by Tina Davidson; "Three Songs of Poems by Frederico Garcia Lorca" by Dina Smorgonskaya; and "Three e. e. cummings Poems" by Kristi McGarity. In 2003, the choir premiered "Sonnets Vanity, Loss and Rapture" by Stacy Garrop and "Shakespeare Suite" by Nancy Wertsch.

The Concert Choir is selected each fall by auditions and includes students from all of the academic colleges on campus. They regularly appear in concert on campus and frequently off campus fulfilling the university's responsibility of enhancing the cultural milieu of the entire region.

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• Promise
• of
• living
• MSU
• concert
• choir
• almquist

[Coolboy1234]

Wow! Thank you. Our choir is preparing to sing this song on the 13th. This is really a help to see just how it's preformed.

[ladysnapey]

I'm glad it helped. Good luck on your performance! It really is a fun piece.

[eb12m]

I would agree, super job, especially from the bass clef. one of the better vids on youtube.

[ladysnapey]

Thank you! Thank you very much.

[PVcondo]

Super job by the men of the chorus. However the sopranos were ill advised to take that optional high C at the end. That was pretty painful, especially since the rest of it was so nice.

[lizNbarby5]

did this piece in the 2011 NYSSSA group in New York Ferdonia. we were all crying at this point

because after that song, we wud b saying goodbye to eachother. after a wonderful month of getting to kno such wonderful and talented people. this song is so beautiful and brought us all together as one.

[bandgeek3607]

i love this song so much, i was in the 2011 regional chorus festival in PA, im from springfield PA so districts 11 and 12 and we did this song, so beautiful!

[TheCherrylimeaids]

I did this my senior year in high school and my director would have been furious if we took that many breaths!!!! And there were definately places where it should have been mp-mf and not f. like when the sopranos join the tenors...waaay too loud. and the ending was extreamly painful to listen to!!!! There were only 3 of us singing the C and it was enough sound to balance the rest of the choir. there were too many in this choir and it sounded like a few couldn't support the C well enough.

[Laurenrules16]

O.o wow i remember singing this song i cant remember how long ago it was though :( but it was really pretty when the choir i used to be in sang it :)

[greekmusicman]

Beautiful performance and awe inspiring. I wish our concert choir had this type of sound, its been a difficult piece to memorize.

[supermangdp7]

This would be so so much more beautiful if the entire song were legato. the breathing after every phrase really kills the beauty. my school's choir is doing this and our director has us hold every note for its proper value, staggering our breaths.

[stfuXnukka]

this was the worst allstate song ever.

[hailfire360]

This piece is so beautiful, my band almost played it but we decided on Irish Tune instead :(