Heinz Chapel Choir makes first appearance in Fayette County
The University of Pittsburgh Heinz Chapel Choir is making its first appearance in Fayette County at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, when it presents a concert of sacred and secular music at Asbury United Methodist Church in Uniontown. The choir is known as an a cappella ensemble, which was founded in 1938 and composed of students who attend the University of Pittsburgh. John Goldsmith, who serves as director of undergraduate studies for the music department, has directed the choir since 1989.
“The nice thing about this group is that they’re not all music majors,’ noted Goldsmith. “It’s very unusual. When you look at the 50 members, the figure that major is music is about five. They don’t all read music but they are able to sing a cappella music in tune. At Christmas, we give five performances on campus and they are always sold out.’
Local residents won’t have to pay to hear this wonderful choir sing. The concert is being offered for free in the Asbury sanctuary.
The choir also has a local connection in that it includes Samantha Meese, a graduate of Laurel Highlands High School and a member of Asbury church. A soprano, Meese is a sophomore at Pitt with a double major in political science and music and is beginning her second year with the choir.
“She’s quite a good singer,’ noted Goldsmith.
The Uniontown program will follow the choir’s regular format of presenting a variety of music.
“It’s a little bit of everything – eclectic,’ said Goldsmith. “Typically, we’ll have three or four sacred pieces. This time we’ll have six. The rest are spirituals, folk songs, jazz, love songs and even a Beatles’ tune.’
Some selections for the Uniontown program include: “Yesterday’ by the Beatles, “I Can Tell The World,’ a spiritual; “Let Thy Holy Presence,’ a Russian Orthodox song; “Come Again Sweet Love,’ an English madrigal; and “Nelly Bly’ by Pittsburgh native Stephen Foster.
“Our audiences rarely get tired of our concerts because there’s so much variety,’ said Goldsmith.
The choir performs abroad every three years. They performed this past May in South America, giving tours in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil where they were well received.
“The audiences there just flipped,’ said Goldsmith. “It’s almost as if they wouldn’t stop applauding.’
While Spanish translations were printed for the audiences, they had no trouble understanding the message of the choir. One woman told Goldsmith: “Your music made my soul happy.’ Goldsmith commented, “That’s the kind of comment that makes your day.’
Past tours have included Scandinavia in 2003, Italy and Croatia in 2001, Spain and France in 1998, Greece and Italy in 1995 and Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Austria and Switzerland in 1992.
During non-touring years, the Heinz Chapel Choir performs only a few concerts outside of Pittsburgh. The Uniontown concert will be its first out-of-town performance this year.
People who are unfamiliar with a cappella concerts are often pleasantly surprised when they hear the Heinz Chapel Choir perform. Goldsmith mentioned a man he met last year in a little town near Harrisburg. The man said he was a member of the church and that he did not want to come to the concert but was persuaded to go by his wife. He told Goldsmith, “Man, am I glad I did come. It was fabulous. You have completely changed my mind.’
Goldsmith noted, “This is a serious choir and they take a lot of pride in their work. They are a feather in the university’s cap. They always represent our school and our country appropriately.’
Asbury United Methodist Church has informing local schools and churches about the choir, hoping for a nice crowd.
Dan Meese of Asbury said, “This is a good opportunity for kids in our area.’
Asbury United Methodist Church is located on the corner of Beeson and Dunbar streets in Uniontown.