Michigan State University Children's Choir
Encyclopedia
The Michigan State University Children's Choir (MSUCC) is a Grammy Award
-winning children's choir located in East Lansing, Michigan
. In 2009, Kristin Zaryski was named director, succeeding the founder of the choir, Mary Alice Stollak. Most choristers in the choir come from the two other children's choirs in the program, the CMS Singers, and Preparatory Choir. The choir has performed at Carnegie Hall
in New York City
, Orchestra Hall
in Detroit, Symphony Center
in Chicago
, and the Kennedy Center, in Washington D.C. In 2006, the choir won two Grammy Awards for their contributions to William Bolcom
's Songs of Innocence and of Experience
: Best Choral Performance
and Best Classical Album
.
, Detroit's Orchestra Hall, and Chicago's Symphony Center.
Some of their notable performances include:
1998: American Choral Directors Association Central Division Convention, Detroit, MI
1999: American Choral Directors Association National Convention, Chicago, IL
2000: The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Neemi Jarvi, Conductor. Carmina Burana
2000: premiere performance and recording of "Symphony No. 4 (The Gardens)" Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, composer, Leon Gregorian, conductor.
2002: Sixth World Symposium on Choral Music: International Federation of Choral Musicians Official Representative of the United States, chosen by audition. Seventy-Three countries and 3000 delegates represented with only thirty-two choirs accepted for performance. Minneapolis, MN
2003: American Choral Directors Association-Michigan: Grand Rapids, MI
2004: American Choral Directors Association Central Division Convention: Indianapolis, IN
2004: Grammy Award winning recording of William Bolcom’s "Songs of Innocence and of Experience", with University of Michigan ensembles, Leonard Slatkin conducting.
2005: Premiere: John Burge’s "Angels’ Voices" with the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, Gustav Meier, conducting. "Angels’ Voices" has since won the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors’ 2006 Outstanding New Choral Composition.
2006: premiere performance of Marjan Helms’ "Voices of a Vanished World", a large scale multi-media presentation exploring the emotional and spiritual implications of the Holocaust, particularly as seen through the eyes of children. This two hour work draws on the melodic contours and instrumental colors of Yiddish folk music, as well as Jewish liturgical chant.
2007: performance of the Pulitzer Prize winning work, "On the Transmigration of Souls", with composer John Adams conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the UMS Choral Union.
2009: premier performance of “Songs For Lada” Alla Borzova, composer, Leonard Slatkin conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Sung completely in Belarusian, this 40 minute work for children's choir was recorded on the Naxos label.
The MSU Children’s Choir has been chosen nine times, through audition, to perform for national, division and state conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, under Stollak’s direction.
Thirty treble choral works have been commissioned by the MSU Children’s Choir and are published with major choral publishing companies.
May, 2009: The choir performed for the last time with their retiring founding director, Mary Alice Stollak, at the Wharton Center for Performing Arts for their Farewell Concert.
s:
1.Songs from the Heart
2.What Sweeter Music
3.A Classic Christmas
4.America the Beautiful: Songs of Our Heritage
5.Rejoice!, traditional Christmas music recorded in the historic chapel of the School Sisters of St. Francis, Milwaukee
6.Songs of Sorrow, Songs of Hope, containing works with texts written by children caught in the Holocaust and in the Bosnian war
7.Songs of Innocence and Of Experience – A Musical Illustration of the Poems of William Blake by William Bolcolm: Naxos Recording
Leonard Slatkin, Conducting, University of Michigan Orchestra and Ensembles
8.This Joy!
9. Zwilich Symphony No. 4, The Gardens,' , Koch Records, Leon Gregorian, Conductor, MSU Orchestra and ensembles. Premiere Performance and Recording
10. Songs for Lada, Alla Barzova composer. Naxos Recording release, spring, 2011. Leonard Slatkin, Conductor, Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Premiere Performance and Recording
The choir rehearses every Tuesday and every other Saturday of each month.
November, 2009: The choirs had their first performance with their new director and accompanist at the University United Methodist Church.
December, 2009: The MSUCC performed at MSU's Home for the Holidays concert at the Wharton Center along with the MSU Women's and Men's Glee Clubs and the State Singers on Saturday December 5th, 2009.
January, 2010: The MSUCC performed two concerts in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on January 17th, 2010.
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-winning children's choir located in East Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located directly east of Lansing, Michigan, the state's capital. Most of the city is within Ingham County, though a small portion lies in Clinton County. The population was 48,579 at the time of the 2010 census, an increase from...
. In 2009, Kristin Zaryski was named director, succeeding the founder of the choir, Mary Alice Stollak. Most choristers in the choir come from the two other children's choirs in the program, the CMS Singers, and Preparatory Choir. The choir has performed at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Orchestra Hall
Orchestra Hall
Orchestra Hall may refer to:*Symphony Center, home of Orchestra Hall in Chicago, Illinois*Orchestra Hall *Orchestra Hall...
in Detroit, Symphony Center
Symphony Center
Symphony Center is a music complex located at 220 South Michigan Avenue in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Sinfonietta, Symphony Center includes the 2,522-seat Orchestra Hall, which dates from 1904; Buntrock Hall, a rehearsal and...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, and the Kennedy Center, in Washington D.C. In 2006, the choir won two Grammy Awards for their contributions to William Bolcom
William Bolcom
William Elden Bolcom is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, two Grammy Awards, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. Bolcom taught composition at the University of Michigan from 1973–2008...
's Songs of Innocence and of Experience
Songs of Innocence and of Experience
Songs of Innocence and of Experience is an illustrated collection of poems by William Blake. It appeared in two phases. A few first copies were printed and illuminated by William Blake himself in 1789; five years later he bound these poems with a set of new poems in a volume titled Songs of...
: Best Choral Performance
Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance has been awarded since 1961. There have been several minor changes to the name of the award over this time:*In 1961 the award was known as Best Classical Performance - Choral ...
and Best Classical Album
Grammy Award for Best Classical Album
The Grammy Award for Best Classical Album was awarded from 1962 to 2011. The award had several minor name changes:*From 1962 to 1963, 1965 to 1972 and 1974 to 1976 the award was known as Album of the Year - Classical...
.
History
Founded in 1993, the choir's founder and director was Mary Alice Stollak. Stollak led the MSU Children's Choir in performances at such prestigious venues as Carnegie HallCarnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, Detroit's Orchestra Hall, and Chicago's Symphony Center.
Some of their notable performances include:
1998: American Choral Directors Association Central Division Convention, Detroit, MI
1999: American Choral Directors Association National Convention, Chicago, IL
2000: The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Neemi Jarvi, Conductor. Carmina Burana
2000: premiere performance and recording of "Symphony No. 4 (The Gardens)" Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, composer, Leon Gregorian, conductor.
2002: Sixth World Symposium on Choral Music: International Federation of Choral Musicians Official Representative of the United States, chosen by audition. Seventy-Three countries and 3000 delegates represented with only thirty-two choirs accepted for performance. Minneapolis, MN
2003: American Choral Directors Association-Michigan: Grand Rapids, MI
2004: American Choral Directors Association Central Division Convention: Indianapolis, IN
2004: Grammy Award winning recording of William Bolcom’s "Songs of Innocence and of Experience", with University of Michigan ensembles, Leonard Slatkin conducting.
2005: Premiere: John Burge’s "Angels’ Voices" with the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, Gustav Meier, conducting. "Angels’ Voices" has since won the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors’ 2006 Outstanding New Choral Composition.
2006: premiere performance of Marjan Helms’ "Voices of a Vanished World", a large scale multi-media presentation exploring the emotional and spiritual implications of the Holocaust, particularly as seen through the eyes of children. This two hour work draws on the melodic contours and instrumental colors of Yiddish folk music, as well as Jewish liturgical chant.
2007: performance of the Pulitzer Prize winning work, "On the Transmigration of Souls", with composer John Adams conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the UMS Choral Union.
2009: premier performance of “Songs For Lada” Alla Borzova, composer, Leonard Slatkin conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Sung completely in Belarusian, this 40 minute work for children's choir was recorded on the Naxos label.
The MSU Children’s Choir has been chosen nine times, through audition, to perform for national, division and state conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, under Stollak’s direction.
Thirty treble choral works have been commissioned by the MSU Children’s Choir and are published with major choral publishing companies.
May, 2009: The choir performed for the last time with their retiring founding director, Mary Alice Stollak, at the Wharton Center for Performing Arts for their Farewell Concert.
Recordings
The Michigan State University Children's Choir has recorded several albumAlbum
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s:
1.Songs from the Heart
2.What Sweeter Music
3.A Classic Christmas
4.America the Beautiful: Songs of Our Heritage
5.Rejoice!, traditional Christmas music recorded in the historic chapel of the School Sisters of St. Francis, Milwaukee
6.Songs of Sorrow, Songs of Hope, containing works with texts written by children caught in the Holocaust and in the Bosnian war
7.Songs of Innocence and Of Experience – A Musical Illustration of the Poems of William Blake by William Bolcolm: Naxos Recording
Leonard Slatkin, Conducting, University of Michigan Orchestra and Ensembles
8.This Joy!
9. Zwilich Symphony No. 4, The Gardens,' , Koch Records, Leon Gregorian, Conductor, MSU Orchestra and ensembles. Premiere Performance and Recording
10. Songs for Lada, Alla Barzova composer. Naxos Recording release, spring, 2011. Leonard Slatkin, Conductor, Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Premiere Performance and Recording
Current News
Kristin Zaryski is the current director of the Michigan State University Children's Choir.The choir rehearses every Tuesday and every other Saturday of each month.
November, 2009: The choirs had their first performance with their new director and accompanist at the University United Methodist Church.
December, 2009: The MSUCC performed at MSU's Home for the Holidays concert at the Wharton Center along with the MSU Women's and Men's Glee Clubs and the State Singers on Saturday December 5th, 2009.
January, 2010: The MSUCC performed two concerts in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on January 17th, 2010.