The University of Alabama at Birmingham Concert Choir will release a new CD on Jan. 28, to help fund the choir’s trip to the eighth World Choir Games in Riga, Latvia, in July.The CD, “Unceasing Love,” will be available beginning Jan. 28 for $10 at digital outlets including iTunes and Amazon. The UAB Department of Music will have copies of the CD for sale in person and via the department’s online store. Included on the CD are highlights from live performances on the choir’s past two regional tours, which included trips to Knoxville, Tenn., Philadelphia, Pa., Virginia Beach, Va., and Greenville, S.C. The repertoire includes a variety of styles with pieces by Lotti, Mendelssohn, Rheinberger, and American composers Paulus, Gjeilo, Whitacre, Ticheli, Dawson, Hogan and more.
The choir has been preparing all academic year to participate in the World Choir Games, the world’s largest choir competition, says Concert Choir Director Brian Kittredge, DMA. The UAB Concert Choir is the premier, auditioned vocal ensemble at UAB, and includes more than 60 students with 22 majors represented.
“We were accepted to represent the United States and Alabama by CD submission and a review process,” Kittredge said. The choir will be competing in two of 29 categories: Mixed Youth Choirs and Spiritual.
The World Choir Games are an international choir festival that takes place every two years on different continents. The World Choir Games concept is based on the Olympic ideals, and aims to peacefully unify singing people and nations connected by song in a fair competition, according to the Games’ website.