ASU Choirs 2024–25 season celebrates the joy of choral singing
Students performing in ASU Choir ensemble. Photo courtesy of the School of Music
Arizona State University Choirs announces a varied season that includes traditional classical choral music as well as the performance of contemporary, jazz and gospel repertoire.
This season, the Choral program is excited to welcome Robert Bode as visiting professor and interim director of choral activities.
“As I begin my year at ASU, I am struck by the energy of the vocal program here,” Bode said. “I can feel it in every rehearsal and as I walk by the practice rooms every day. It’s obvious to me that the students in our program love to sing and they love singing here. We are eager to share that love of singing with the campus and community.”
In addition to his extensive choral teaching career, Bode is known nationally as a conducting pedagogue. He is one of a few conductors to have performed for three national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), each with a different chorus. Bode has led master classes in conducting for ACDA conferences in Missouri, Oregon, Texas and Washington. He is also known throughout the U.S. for his dedication to the commissioning and performance of new choral music and currently serves on the composition committee of ACDA. As a prize-winning poet, he has written texts for over 100 choral works.
ASU Choirs also welcomes Kenyan choral director Henry Wanjala for a one-week residency in early October. Wanjala will work with the ASU Choir ensembles and will present a community sing on Oct. 5.
The ASU Choirs includes six ensembles: Canticum Bassum, Sol Singers, Barrett Symphonic Choir, Gospel Choir, Concert Choir and Choral Union.
The opening concert on Sept. 24 with the Canticum Bassum and the Sol Singers presents a variety of music, including an Appalachian folk song, a Scottish folk tune and traditional barbershop songs, and includes the ASU Pitchforks, a student-run a cappella group. On Oct. 7, the Concert Choir celebrates music that inspires, entertains and creates community with performances by the Chandler Children’s Chorus and the Dayspring Celebration Chorale. The Barrett Symphonic Choir, Gospel Choir and student club ASU Mill Ave Jazz will present an evening of choral music ranging from jazz, folk, gospel and classical traditions on Oct. 17. As part of that concert, the Barrett Symphonic Choir will present “Give Me a Song!”, a new piece by Erik Whitehill, Tempe Union Elementary School District music teacher. On Nov. 8, the Concert Choir, conducted by Native Hawaiian conducting graduate student Megann Sala, will present Hawaiian choral music by Dorothy Kahananui Gillett, native Hawaiian educator and choral arranger, that features a culture of music and a style of choral arranging that has rarely been shared outside of her home of Hawai'i.
“For the Barrett Symphonic Choir’s first concert in October, our diverse ensemble will explore the concept of freedom and what it means to different people,” said Joshua Palkki, associate director of choral activities and assistant professor. “We will close our October concert set with ‘Freedom Train’ by Rollo Dilworth, one of my favorite pieces, which quotes several civil rights-era songs.”
The final concert of the fall season features all ASU Choirs in a performance of festive choral music on Dec. 5. A highlight of the program will be John Rutter’s “Gloria” for choir, brass and percussion. Audience members are asked to bring a canned good or nonperishable food item for donation to the ASU Pitchfork Pantry.
The spring season opens on Feb. 13, 2025, with the Canticum Bassum, the Sol Singers and the Barrett Symphonic Choir in an engaging and uplifting program of choral music. On March 4, graduate conductor Jordan Rakita leads the Concert Choir in Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s “Romancero Gitano” for chorus and guitar. The March 25 concert showcases the Barrett Symphonic Choir in an evening of pop, jazz and Broadway works. On April 11, the Concert Choir performs Adolphus Hailstork's cantata “I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes,” and will be joined by the Concert Choir of Betty Fairfax High School for the program.
The season finale on April 29 features all ASU Choirs with a special presentation of Gabriel Fauré’s “Requiem” performed by the Concert Choir, the Choral Union and an instrumental ensemble.
Tickets are available for ticketed concerts at the Herberger Institute Box Office.
ASU Choirs 2024–25 Season
Tuesday, Sept. 24
ASU Canticum Bassum, Sol Singers and ASU Pitchforks
7:30 p.m., Katzin Concert Hall
Monday, Oct. 7
ASU Concert Choir
“Let the Music Fill Your Soul”
7:30 p.m., Dayspring United Methodist Church
Thursday, Oct. 17
Mill Ave Jazz, Barrett Symphonic Choir and Gospel Choir
“Give Me a Song!”
7:30 p.m., Dayspring United Methodist Church
Friday, Nov. 8
ASU Concert Choir
7:30 p.m., Katzin Concert Hall
Thursday, Dec. 5
All ASU Choirs
"A Season of Giving"
7:30 p.m., First United Methodist Church of Mesa
Thursday, Feb. 13
ASU Canticum Bassum, Sol Singers, Barrett Symphonic Choir
7:30 p.m., Dayspring United Methodist Church
Tuesday, March 4
Mill Ave Jazz, Concert Choir
7:30 p.m., Evelyn Smith Music Theatre
Tuesday, March 25
ASU Barrett Symphonic Choir
Pops Concert
7:30 p.m., Katzin Concert Hall
Friday, April 11
ASU Concert Choir
7:30 p.m., Katzin Concert Hall
Tuesday, April 29
All ASU Choirs
7:30 p.m., First United Methodist Church of Mesa
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