Eastern Student Brennan Collins Performs at Carnegie Hall Concert

2011 Dec 5

Brennan Collins '13 of Wauregan joined other members of the Eastern Connecticut State University Concert Chorale on Nov. 13 for a special concert at Carnegie Hall as part of the Mid America Production Concert Series. Collins majors in Music.

In addition to singing with 120 other participating singers, the Chorale also performed a 25-minute solo featuring F.J. Haydn's "Te Deum" and Howard Hanson's "Song of Democracy." Combining with the other singers, they performed Robert Ray's "Gospel Mass."

"What sets this far and above those other experiences is that the 50 singers from Eastern were featured in a solo portion of the concert, separate from the other 120 singers participating in the festival," said David Belles, associate professor of music at Eastern, who was making his conducting debut at Carnegie Hall.

The Chorale previously performed at Carnegie Hall in 2008 when they sang Mozart's "Requiem," and in 2005 when they appeared with groups from four other universities to perform Mozart's "Coronation Mass."

The Eastern Connecticut State University Concert Chorale focuses on choral/orchestral masterworks, as well as shorter choral selections. This ensemble is open to all Eastern faculty, staff and students, and members of the community. The group also performed at the Deutschordenhaus Kirche during the Bösendorfer Choir Festival in Vienna, Austria in 2006 to celebrate Mozart's 250th birthday. One to two concerts are presented each term.

Eastern Connecticut State University is Connecticut's public liberal arts university. Eastern serves more than 5,500 students each year on its Willimantic campus.