PR2004 Dec 4

SHELTON SINGERS CELEBRATE 25 YEARS OF BEAUTIFUL MUSIC

Dec 2004

TUSCALOOSA – The Shelton Singers of Shelton State Community College will celebrate their 25th Anniversary with a reunion concert on Sunday, December 4 at 2:00 P.M. in the Bean-Brown Theatre in the Sandra Hall Ray Fine Arts Center on the Martin Campus at 9500 Old Greensboro Road in Tuscaloosa.

     The 25th Anniversary Reunion will kickoff at 9:00 A.M. with rehearsal including past and present singers followed by a reunion luncheon.  “All the things that make the Shelton Singers a successful choir – rehearsals, concerts, travel, festivals – also have forged strong bonds among the Singers,” said Glinda Blackshear, director of the group.  “These friendships have lasted much longer than the few years when the students actually make music together.”

     Founded in 1979, with Syble Coats as director, the Shelton Singers have appeared twice at Carnegie Hall in New York as part of the National Two-Year College Honor Choir.  In addition they have performed with the Tuscaloosa Symphony and appeared in concerts in Salt Lake City, Honolulu, Atlanta and Orlando.  The group received first or second place in the Alabama Two-Year College Music Showcase each year the awards were given.

     In addition to choral music, both sacred and secular, the Shelton Singers have presented the musicals Bye Bye Birdy, Little Mary Sunshine, Brigadoon, L’il Abner, The Boyfriend, Oklahoma!, The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance and in cooperation with the Shelton State Theatre Department, The Fantasticks, Cinderella and Damn Yankees.  At least nine of the more than 750 singers who have been with the group since it was founded have participated in the “Miss Alabama” pageant. 

     The December 4 Reunion Concert will feature current Shelton Singers and the Shelton Brass Ensemble in the first half with the Reunion Choir joining in the second half of the program of Christmas music.

     Past directors of the Shelton Singers, in addition to Coats who served in that capacity from 1979 to 1982, include Everett McCorvey and the late Joy Dendy.  Blackshear has been director since 1987, joined in 1999 by Mark Brown as Assistant Director.  Susan Goode serves as piano accompanist for the Singers.

     “The Shelton Singers have served the college as ambassadors since its inception singing for area high schools, churches, and civic organizations.  Being a part of the development of “The Community College of the Fine Arts” has been such a source of pride in my life,” said group founder Syble Coats who is Music Department Chair at Shelton State.

“During the past 25 years so many wonderful memories have been made through the sounds of the Shelton Singers.”

     The December 4 Reunion Concert will begin at 2:00 P.M. in the Bean-Brown Theatre.  The concert is free and open to the public.  For additional information on the performance, or if you are a past member of the Shelton Singers and would like to participate, please contact Glinda Blackshear at 205-391-2344 or by email at gblackshear@sheltonstate.edu.

SHELTON SINGERS ACCOMPLISHMENTS 1979-2004

Concerts in Carnegie Hall:

1990 – National Honor Choir; 2000 – Alabama Two-Year College Honor Choir;

2004 – National Two-Year College Honor Choir

Concerts with Festival Choirs in Manhattan; Salt Lake City; Honolulu; Atlanta; Orlando

Concerts with the Tuscaloosa Symphony in 2001 of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and in 2002 of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms

Troy Music Festival: 2003, Carmina Burana by Orff; 2005, Requiem by Faure

Concerts with Chamber Orchestra: Christmas Oratorio by Saint-Saens; Gloria by Vivaldi (twice); Requiem by Faure (twice)

Winner (first or second place) of Two-Year College Music Showcase in each year when awards were given

Major Musicals presented by the Music Department: Bye Bye, Birdie (twice); Little Mary Sunshine; Brigadoon; L’il Abner; The Boyfriend; Oklahoma; The Mikado; Pirates of Penzance

Major Musicals presented in conjunction with the Theatre Department: The Fantasticks; Cinderella; Damn Yankees

Dinner Theatre: Carmen; Down in the Valley; Madrigal Dinners and numerous Musical Revues

Performance on Disney Cruise Line

Performances for MLK Celebrations

Concerts on themes: American Music; International Music; Spirituals for Black History Month; Poetry in Music (in conjunction with the English and Speech faculty)

Annual Sacred Concerts at area churches

Performances for civic clubs: Rotary; Civitans; Kiwanis

Over 750 students participated in Shelton Singers in the past 25 years

Directors: Syble Coats (1979-82); Everett McCorvey (1982); Joy Dendy (1983-1987); Glinda Blackshear (1987 – present); Mark Brown (Assistant Director 1999-present)