Choirs Perform at State Conference, Present Fall Concert, and Hold a Reunion

The UL Lafayette Chamber Singers were selected to perform as the feature choir for the American Choral Director's Association state conference in New Orleans on Friday November 2nd where they dazzled an audience of choral directors, prospective students, and other University conductors from across our state as well as parts of Mississippi. Our vocal athletes garnered a swift standing ovation and cheers from the audience after their performance at the conference.

The following evening, the Chamber Singers, Ragin' Cajun Women's Choir, and University Chorale joined forces to present the fall concert, "Choral Dances," a multi-cultural program in which all of the choral music performed suggested dance rhythms or made reference to dance in its text (with choral pieces English, French, German, Italian, Greek, Samoan, Danish, and Swedish). The choirs were joined by students from the Dance Studio for several selections, as talented dancers presented choreography by Kenneth Jenkins which created a visual and aural spectacle for the audience's enjoyment. In addition, choir alumni by the dozens journeyed to the campus to participate in a Choir Homecoming weekend where they were invited to sing together in our choir room, and invited to the stage after the concert to sing the UL Alma Mater along with 120 student vocalists.

Choir members representing over 70 years of UL and USL history joined together to sing (choir members from the late 1950s through recent graduates from Spring 2018 participated). Alumni from the 1970s joined on this special night to honor the memory of past USL choir director, the late Dr. Brian Busch. Dr. Busch's widow, Lee Busch, was present and gave a heartfelt address at the performance. Through the efforts of USL Alumnus Marvin Gaspard (’78) and many others, a new endowed fund has been created for the choral program: The Brian Busch Memorial Choral Excellence Fund.

The Chamber Singers have been invited to perform as the featured choir at this year's Louisiana Music Educator's Association conference, where they will perform for the all-state high school choir, directors, parents, and educators on Friday November 16th.