choir heads to ireland

Tue., Jun 02

Terese Gemme believes in the spiritual power of choral singing. "When you sing with other people, it links you with them spiritually," says Southern's choir director, a professor of music. So the decision to take members of the University Choir to Dublin, Ireland, this June to join in an international choral performance of Handel's "Messiah" was about more than just singing. Gemme is hoping this experience will give the famous oratorio a meaning the student singers will carry with them the rest of their lives. 

The trip is being made possible in large part by the generosity of the Stutzman Family Foundation, which last year announced its intention to fund a music lessons program for Southern music majors. Represented by Walter Stutzman (below, left), who just graduated from Southern in May with a bachelor's degree in music, the foundation made the gift to the choir because, as Stutzman says, "We wanted to be sure that people in the department could go on this trip and take advantage of this opportunity."

The opportunity is one that Gemme and the choir have been dreaming of for a few years. Simon Carrington, director of the Yale Schola Cantorum and professor of choral conducting at Yale University, invited the Southern choir to take part in the Dublin performance, which he will conduct. Gemme and the students were interested in joining, but cost was an obstacle. 

The Dublin "Messiah" is one of many similar events taking place around the world this year, which marks the 250th anniversary of the death of composer George Frideric Handel. Handel, born in 1685, was a German-English composer whose works include "Messiah," "Water Music" and "Music for the Royal Fireworks." He composed "Messiah" in the summer of 1741, and the work premiered in Dublin in 1742. Among the most popular works in Western choral literature, the oratorio includes the beloved "Hallelujah Chorus." 

When Gemme and the choir discussed the possibility of such a trip, students who were interested said they could probably afford half the cost, which is about $4,000 per person. "We thought about it again in the fall, and then the economy started to tumble," Gemme says. "We weren't sure the university could afford to support the trip financially."

Enter Stutzman. When he heard about the choir's interest in the Ireland trip, and about the cost being an obstacle, he made a generous offer.  

"Walter said we need music more than ever in these dark times," says Gemme. "He sees music as being a light in the darkness." He offered to provide $53,000 - about half the cost of the trip - with the balance being covered by students' personal funds as well as money raised through fundraisers.
Choirs from all over the world will participate in the performance, and Stutzman sees great value in this "chance for Southern's musicians to be part of the international music community. These opportunities don't come along very often."

In addition to rehearsing and performing, the choir will go sightseeing in Ireland and in London. A few of the students have traveled, but many needed to get their passports for the trip. Gemme points to cultural exposure as one of the main benefits of such an experience. "Being able to perform in a choir of singers from all over the world in a place like St. Patrick's Cathedral, and to be singing a masterpiece like 'Messiah' in the place where it was premiered, is so exciting," she says. 

The choir performed "Messiah," parts 2 and 3, at Spring Glen Church in Hamden on May 8, along with some singers from the church congregation. The trip to Ireland is June 14-22.      

"Even though these students already love singing," says Gemme, "this experience has the potential for changing their lives."