What a concert! Enjoy this video highlight of The UNC Asheville University Singers, Asheville Singers, and the Reuter Center Singers performing The Rain Is Over and Gone by Paul Halley in Lipinsky Auditorium, UNCA. (Directed by Chuck Taft)
Soloist: Margaret Kvalvik
Sop. Sax: Jim Anthony
Oboe/Clarinet: Misty Theisen
Cello: Ben Smith
Guitar: Chris Morgan
Bass: Jim Simmons
Drum Kit: Will Younts
Percussion: Matthew Richmond
Organ: Melodie Galloway
Piano: Brad Curtioff
On November 19th, 2017, I had the privilege of conducting the Reuter Center Singers, Givens Estates Vesper Choir, and the Biltmore UMC Choir in a joint concert called "While I Still Have Breath." Read more about the concert here, or see it for yourself in the video below.
I am excited to share the news that I will be presenting some of my original graduate research at this year's winter conference at the West Virginia chapter of the American Choral Director's Association! I will be co-presenting an interest session called "Vocal Health Practices for Life-Long Singing" with Dr. Melodie Galloway of the University of North Carolina at Asheville.
This presentation builds off the research I am doing for my Master's degree, into the choral performance by aging voices and the impacts of choral singing on older populations.
Dr. Galloway and I will explore techniques and strategies for addressing the needs of singers as they age, including: a seven step rehearsal process moving through exercises to improve posture, breath, strength, and vocal quality; optimal setup of rehearsal spaces to enhance rehearsal goals; assessments of singers' emotional status to facilitate connection of the whole person to the music; and more. Our presentation will include a demonstration section complete with vocal training and ensemble singing; if you're going to be at the Conference, stop by!
Asheville, NC — A packed audience left standing room only at the Reuter Center Singers Rewind to the 50s performance, 7pm, Friday, May 17, at UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
The dazzling group dressed in fifties attire for the performance, directed by Chuck Taft, who left behind his tux and tie for leather jacket. Audience members hummed along to familiar tunes, including “Love Me Tender” and “Lollipop.” Taft’s daughter, Ceili, delighted the audience with a solo, “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,” and even a canine friend made the stage for “Hound Dog.”
To learn more about the Reuter Center Singers, visit OLLI’s website or contact the Director, Chuck Taft.
Asheville, NC — Music of the 50s will resound when the Reuter Center Singers perform at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 17, at UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center, home to OLLI, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
The Reuter Center Singers, OLLI’s community chorus directed by Chuck Taft, will “Rewind to the 50s” and perform some of that decade’s greatest hits. Many members of the chorus will be taken back to their own youth as they sing “A Teenager in Love,” “Love Me Tender,” “Lollipop,” “All I Have To Do Is Dream,” and more. There will be an intermission during the concert and an informal banquet to follow the evening’s performances.
The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, visit OLLI’s website or call 828.251.6140.
Asheville, NC — Reuter Center Singers performed Sunday, February 24, 2013 at Kenilworth Presbyterian Church. The free concert was open to the public with donations benefiting Loving Food Resources.
The Reuter Center Singers, directed by Chuck Taft at the UNC Asheville Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, presented an eclectic musical program, including SPRING AWAKENING’s Purple Summer, as well as choral arrangements of When the Saints Go Marching In and How Can I Keep From Singing.
The concert collected $827.22 and 91 pounds of food to donate to Loving Food Resources, which provides food and personal care to people suffering from HIV/AIDS.
Kenilworth Prebyterian Church is located at 123 Kenilworth Road, in Asheville. Chuck Taft serves as the church’s Music Director.