Our numbers are growing!

Howdy,

I was talking with Rich Mullin (VP for Enrollment) during our latest SOAR session this past week, and he told me that for this fall, in terms of number of students majoring, music is the second or third largest major on campus! I'm stunned but thrilled...there were only about 4 majors when I came here 10 years ago!

Concert Choir pre-enrollment is already more than we had in the ensemble last year, and the second SOAR session and fall registration will add a bunch too. Looks like we have 7-8 new tenors coming in, 5+ basses, and scads of really good sopranos and altos. Our total choir enrollment should hopefully be back around 60, where it has traditionally been. Instrumental additions look healthy as well. There are always people that "slip through the cracks" and arrive on campus in the fall without us knowing they have music experience. If you all could keep your eyes and ears open when the freshmen get here, I think we could pick up a few more.

I have our fall tour program MOSTLY planned out. It's a "psalms, canticles, and sonnets" theme with lots of variety. We'll be doing some Brazilian pieces, Stanford "Beati Quorum Via", Mathias "Let the People Praise Thee, O God" (big piece with organ, written for the wedding of Charles and Diana), etc. etc. I want the middle of the program to be small-ensemble (4-8 singers) stuff - a cappella doo-wop, vocal jazz, perhaps a barbershop number. I'll wait to plan that portion out until I get a feel for our incoming student interest, experience, and skill in these various genre.

See you later!
RCB