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MC Singers Booked for Kentucky Concert on March 6


Mississippi College Singers will soon be Kentucky-bound for a concert before 1,000 choral directors from across the South.

Their performance next month is at a convention of the Southern Division of the American Choral Directors Association. The concert is booked for March 6 at the Kentucky Center for the Arts in Louisville, Ky. The MC student choir was one of three university choirs selected to perform at the convention in the organization's 11-state Southern region. The concert begins at 10:30 a.m.

The 55-member MC Singers will showcase their talents at a center considered Kentucky's premier performing arts and entertainment venue.

The student group from Mississippi College is from a Southern region that includes Kentucky, Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.

ACDA members consist of choir directors, including music teachers at elementary schools, college professors and church musicians. Other divisions of the group are gathering for 2008 conventions in such cities as Hartford, Conn., Kansas City, Fargo, N.D., Grand Rapids, Mich., Anaheim, Calif., and Vancouver.

This marks the MC Singers' second invitation to the Southern Division convention, the first coming in 2004.

"It's quite an honor to be selected," said MC sophomore Caleb Graham, 20, a member of the MC Singers. The Jackson resident joins dozens of other students busy rehearsing to sing at least six different musical selections at the Kentucky concert.

A Jackson Academy graduate who sings baritone, Graham said he considers the MC group to be ambassadors for the Baptist-affiliated school on travels around the Magnolia State and outside its borders.

Early in the new year, the MC Singers blended their voices with choruses from around the state and from New Jersey for a concert at New York City's famed Carnegie Hall. The Jan. 13 concert was part of a musical tribute marking the national holiday for the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. James Meaders, chairman and conductor of choral activities with the MC Music Department, served as guest conductor for the New York performance.

In recent years, the MC Singers have entertained audiences around the United States, England, Italy and Slovenia.

Getting selected for the Kentucky concert wasn't easily accomplished. "To perform on one of these convention programs, one must submit a recording from the immediate three previous years," Meaders said. The recordings are heard by a panel of judges who don't know the identity of the group. From that point, a minimum score must be achieved to be considered for inclusion on the program, he said. Choirs meeting that standard are selected for a limited number of performance slots.

Every odd year, the organization of choir directors gathers for a national convention. In even years, the group meets at divisional conventions in different regions of the nation.

The American Choral Directors Association convention in Louisville, Ky. runs from March 5-8. For more details on the concert by the MC Singers, contact James Meaders at meaders@mc.edu or 601-925-3440. Additional information is available at www.acdaonline.org.