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CENTURY SINGER'S ANNUAL SPRING CONCERT Tickets $5 each Questions? Call us at 979-845-5974 A Message from the Choir President April 27, 2009 Howdy! My name is Kelley Baxter and I’m the ’08-‘09 Century Singers President. We had an amazing semester with a very successful performance of Aaron Copland’s “Old American Songs” with the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra, our very first All-Choral Activities tour to Austin and Houston, and two amazing performances of our annual variety show, Showcase, and finally our annual Spring Concert. We’re getting ready to move out of our current home in the basement of the MSC and move across campus. This summer we’ll being relocating to the basement of the Commons, the main residence center located on the Southside of campus. Although this will bring about several challenges for Century Singers and the rest of Choral Activities, we are also very excited about the new opportunities this will also bring. Although we don’t quite yet know exactly when we’ll be moving, you can call us at 979-845-5974 and find out our current location. Also, we can guarantee that you’ll be able to find us at the Resource Tables during the Summer New Student Conferences. Century Singers is A&M’s 80-voice mixed choir led by our director, Jess Wade III. We sing a wide range of music concentrating on classical choir literature, but also including (but definitely not limited to) folk songs, spirituals, popular songs, and show tunes. We usually have three to four concerts each school year and rehearse four times a week (MW 12:40-1:30pm and TR 12:45-2:00pm). Century Singers is not only an amazing choir, but we’re also a tight-knit family that loves to have fun! We have a themed TNFT (Thursday Night Fun Thing) every week, but not always on Thursdays. At TNFTs, we dress up, hang out, watch movies, or do anything else that fits into the week’s theme. These are completely optional, but we encourage all members to go! We also have an over-night Retreat every semester (also optional), but any member who skips out on this (in my personal opinion) is insane! It’s my favorite thing we do! We play games, solve mysteries, eat junk food, (try to) stay up all night, and simply have a blast! I just want to thank you for visiting our website, and take some time to look around a bit. If you have any questions or are interested in getting involved, come visit us in the Choral Activities Office (MSC Basement 003) or call 979-845-5974. Also, feel free to email me at kbaxter427@gmail.com; I’d love to talk to you a little bit more about our amazing choir! CS Love, A Tradition of Choral Excellence Group singing has been an important part of student activities throughout Texas A&M's history. The spirit and tradition of Texas A&M have been embodied in vocal music groups since 1894. In 1971, the mixed chorus under the name of the New Tradition Singers was established. It was renamed in 1976 as the Texas A&M Century Singers to commemorate the Texas A&M centennial. The Century Singers, the university's premier 80-voice concert choir, performs for audiences throughout Texas and the rest of the nation. Performances include Fall, Christmas and Spring concerts, special commissions, church services, conventions, campus events, and our annual Spring tour. In May of 1988, the Century Singers had the opportunity to tour New York and Canada, performing Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis" in New York's Carnegie Hall. In 1993, the Century Singers toured Italy, performing at the Vatican in Rome. In May of 1996, celebrating our 25th anniversary, the Century Singers toured Spain and France singing classical pieces by Spanish and French composers. In the summer of 1999, the choir toured Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic, performing at the Czech Dvorjak festival. In 2002, the choir travelled to the islands of Great Britain. Most recently, in 2005, the Century Singers travelled to France and Italy, highlighted by a performance in a mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. In May of 2008, they travelled to Greece, where they sung a program consisting of pieces by American composers and traditional American folksongs. Since our inception, the Century Singers have grown into an outstanding choral organization. We perform a wide variety of music, from the most challenging classical repertoire to folk song arrangements, spirituals, and show tunes. The purpose of the Century Singers is to represent Texas A&M, to promote choral excellence in an institution of higher learning, and to offer the university community an opportunity to experience the classical masterpieces of choral literature. Director - Jess Wade, III 
Jess Wade is Assistant Coordinator of Vocal Music at Texas A&M University, where he conducts the Century Singers and Women's Chorus. He is also in his tenth year as Artistic Director/Conductor of the Brazos Valley Chorale. In addition to these responsibilities, he is often called upon to participate in area choral events as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator. Mr. Wade has also worked with and prepared choirs for Sir David Willcocks, Roger Wagner, and John Rutter. Besides his skills as a conductor, he has served as a choral and vocal accompanist on both collegiate and professional levels, notably with Robert Shaw in presentations of Bach's Mass in B minor and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. There have been a number of collaborative efforts between Mr. Wade and the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra. His conducting debut with the BVSO was a performance of Handel's complete Messiah. He also conducted the Chorale, Century Singers and orchestra in performances of Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, Vaughan William's Sea Symphony and Debussy's Sirenes. Other major choral works he has prepared for performance in the Brazos Valley have included Requiems of Mozart, Durufle, and Lloyd Webber; Bach's Mass in B minor; Bernstein's Chichester Psalms; Poulenc's Gloria; Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem; Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610; Honegger's King David; and Holst's The Planets. Mr. Wade has traveled extensively with his choirs throughout Texas and beyond our state borders. His choirs have performed in important venues in Italy, Spain, France and Canada. The Century Singers have performed for the Southwestern Division of the American Choral Directors Association. His Women's Chorus is the founding organization and annual participants in the Texas Women's Chorus Festival, this year performing for the Texas Music Educator's Association conference in San Antonio. Mr. Wade is very involved in the American Choral Directors Association, Texas Choral Directors Association, Chorus America, Music Educators National Conference, and Texas Music Educators Association. He holds degrees from Southwest Baptist University and Kansas State University, and has completed course work for a Ph.D. at the University of Missouri-Columbia. We'd Love to Have You! Joining the Century Singers is a fairly simple process. Although an audition is required, it's nothing to worry about. Auditions are held the first three days of every semester. If you would like to audition, stop by the Choral Activities Office and make an appointment. The office is in MSC 003, downstairs by Hullabaloo. There's no need to be nervous about auditioning, as it entails singing "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" a few times and a simple sightreading exercise. A few things you might want to know about the Century Singers:
We have fun, too! Along with all the singing we do, we love to have fun! We go out of our way to make sure that new members fit in and feel comfortable. Although it is in no way a requirement, we try to get together at least once a week just to hang out. So, in addition to allowing us to enjoy singing together, being in Century Singers also provides a great way to meet new friends. If you have any questions, or if you just want to talk to somebody who is in Century Singers, please call the Choral Activities Office at 845-5974. *Red indicates member event Upcoming Events Tuesday-Thursday, January 20-22 Tuesday, January 20 Sunday, January 25 Friday, February 20 Sunday, March 8 Friday-Saturday, March 27-28 Friday-Saturday, April 3-4 Tuesday, April 21 Friday, April 24 Saturday, April 25 Current Members
Singing Cadets - "The Voice of Aggieland"  The Singing Cadets are open to any male student at Texas A&M and consist of approximately 60 male students. They are internationally known as the Voice of Aggieland. In May of 2004 the Singing Cadets will travelled to Australia for a concert tour of Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney. In May of 2006 they were the special guests of President George W. Bush at the White House. In May of 2007 they toured South America including Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil. Under the direction of Mr. David Kipp, the group performs yearly throughout the state of Texas as well as other special opportunities such as Astros games, dinners for former presidents, Miss Texas pageants, and many other special events. The Singing Cadets have represented Texas A&M since 1893 and have traveled extensively including places such as Hawaii, Mexico, Germany, France, Switzerland, Romania, Hungary, New York’s Carnegie Hall and the Capital’s Kennedy Center. In May of 1999, the Cadets traveled to England where they performed at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Windsor Palace, and for Prince William. The Cadets also returned to the United Kingdom in May of 2001 and performed concerts in Wales, England, and Scotland. Women's Chorus - "The Finest Singing Women in Aggieland"  The Women’s Chorus is an all female choir averaging 60-70 members. They sing varied repertoire, drawing not only on the finest classical music written for women’s voices, but also lighthearted contemporary jazz, folk and pop literature. Under the direction of Mr. Jess Wade III, they represent TAMU in the local community and the state at a variety of functions. Each year the choir participates in the Texas Collegiate Women’s Chorus Festival held on various college campuses. They perform Singing Birthday Grams as an ongoing fundraiser. In May of 2003 the Women’s Chorus traveled to Canada for a concert tour of Montreal and Quebec. The Women’s Chorus has also toured England, the Pacific Northwest, and the central U.S. One A-Chord, an ensemble from within the Women’s Chorus, also performs extensively for local clubs and organizations. |
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