AMES, Iowa – The Cantamus Women’s Choir from Iowa State University will be singing its way to Dallas for a special performance.
The choir was selected to perform at the 2013 National Conference of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) March 13-16 at Dallas’ renowned Meyerson Symphony Hall and Winspear Opera House.
A national committee of collegiate choral conductors reviewed the choir’s recent recordings and proposed repertoire, and selected it from a large pool of applicants, said Kathleen Rodde, Cantamus’ director and senior lecturer in music, an academic unit in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at ISU.
"Being chosen to perform at a national conference of the ACDA is regarded as the pinnacle achievement for an American choir," said Rodde, who added this is the first time the Iowa State choir will be performing at the event.
The choir, comprised of undergraduate and graduate students from throughout the university, is expected to sing for a record crowd of more than 4,000 conductors and choral enthusiasts from around the nation and the world. Cantamus’ song selections will showcase music from Japan, Macedonia, Hungary, Germany and the United States. Cantamus is the only collegiate women’s choir selected to give a solo performance at the 2013 conference.
Rodde expressed her gratitude for the women’s commitment and dedication to the choir, and said the singers are more than ready to perform. “This whole journey has been a joy,” she said. Rodde has been directing Cantamus since 2000.
A “bon voyage” concert will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 10, at Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall at Iowa State, in which Cantamus will sing its ACDA program. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for students.
"It would be great to have a full house of people showing their support for our bon voyage national conference home send-off concert," Rodde added.
While traveling to Dallas, Cantamus will perform at First United Methodist Church in Pittsburg, Kan., on March 13.
-30-
NEWS RELEASE College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Iowa State University
Contacts: Kathleen Rodde, Music, (515) 294-7447, krodde@iastate.edu Paige Berg, Liberal Arts & Sciences Communication, (515) 294-0461, pmberg@iastate.edu Steve Jones, Liberal Arts & Sciences Communication, (515) 294-0461, jones@iastate.edu