A Cappella Ensemble Of ESUs Department Of Music Selected To Perform At Conference

East Stroudsburg University’s A Cappella Ensemble has been selected to perform at the inaugural Fall Conference of the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Choral Directors Association October 22 in York, Pa.

“It’s a tremendous honor for the group,” says Dr. James Maroney, associate professor of music, who directs the ensemble. “This is the first time ever that an ESU choral ensemble has been invited to perform at a professional music conference. I’m very proud of the accomplishments of the singers. They have worked extremely hard.”

The American Choral Directors Association is the largest professional organization for choral conductors in the world, and “to have my professional colleagues deem A Cappella Ensemble worthy of performing for them is very high praise indeed,” says Maroney. All selected groups are chosen through a ‘blind’ audition, in which the judges are unaware of the group’s identity until the final decisions have been made.

A Cappella Ensemble consists of auditioned singers who perform unaccompanied classical music spanning six centuries in a number of languages. In addition to regular performances on campus and in the community, the group has toured to China, Austria, Italy, Toronto, Boston, and Washington, D.C.

Current members of A Cappella Ensemble include: sopranos Danielle Tretola, a sophomore English major from Bloomfield, N.J.; Deanna Knapp, a senior psychology major from Middletown, N.Y.; Paula Dixon, a junior fine arts music major from Bensalem, Pa.; Christina Ellis, a junior from Royersford, Pa., with a double major in fine arts music and media communications and technology; altos Sadie Schomaker, a sophomore English major from Lewistown, Pa.; Meg Dowling, a senior theatre major from Glenside, Pa.; Laura Wall, a junior physical education major from Emerson, N.J.; tenors Patrick Mertz, a senior chemistry major from Catasauqua, Pa.; David Yablonski, a junior mathematics major from Six Mile Run, Pa.; Tyler Hernandez a freshman mathematics major from Tobyhanna, Pa.; and basses Joseph Jefferson, a sophomore chemistry major from Blakeslee, Pa.; and Ely Reyes Viruet, a junior English major from Tobyhanna, Pa.

The program for the Fall Conference includes: Now May We Singen by Cecilia McDowall; Ave Maris Stella by Javier Busto; Die Nachtigall by Felix Mendelssohn; Sing Me to Heaven by Daniel Gawthrop; and Amazing Grace/Promised Land arranged by Dr. Maroney.

Search

Recent Posts