Heinz Chapel, free
Pitt's renowned Heinz Chapel Choir is approaching two significant milestones in the space of only a few weeks. From April 17–19, the ensemble celebrates its 70th Anniversary with several alumni events culminating in a spring concert of a cappella music. Then, on April 28, the group embarks on a fifteen day tour of China, the choir's eighth international tour and first visit to Asia.
The Heinz Chapel Choir has over 1,000 alumni scattered around the world. Many of these will converge on Pitt's campus on April 17th to celebrate the choir's 70th anniversary with events that include a sing along in Heinz Chapel and banquet. The choir performs it's concert on Sunday, April 19th at 3 p.m. at Heinz Chapel. The concert is free to the public and will include a wide variety of music ranging from The Beatles to folk music from around the world, and feature Chen Yi's Fengyang Song.
Heinz Chapel Choir's tour of China will comprise performances at prominent music schools, including the Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing, Xian Conservatory of Music, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, and Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Along with the demanding performance schedule, the tour will provide opportunities for students to see many of China's most famous landmarks and to learn about Chinese culture and traditions first-hand. The choir's devoted state-side audience will be able to follow the students on tour as choir member Tim Parenti makes regular posts to the music department's blog (www.music.pitt.edu/blog).
The Heinz Chapel Choir is an auditioned ensemble made up of students at the University of Pittsburgh. The talented members devote four hours per week for rehearsals, and receive one college credit each semester for participating in this extra-curricular activity. The singers represent some thirty-six different fields of study.
John Goldsmith, director since 1989, is an a cappella specialist who also teaches the two-year ear-training course sequence for music majors at the University of Pittsburgh, and serves as the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Music Department. Mr. Goldsmith has conducted professional choirs in Houston, Texas and Kansas City, Kansas, and appears frequently as Guest Conductor at choral festivals and as a featured clinician. His previous academic appointments were at Eastmoor High School (Columbus, Ohio), Capital University (Columbus, Ohio), and West Virginia University.