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The music departments of East Tennessee State University and Milligan College are collaborating for a third year to present “Men in Song,” a festival and concert celebrating male singers from throughout the region.
This two-day festival starts Saturday, Sept. 24, at 9:30 a.m. and culminates with a free public concert on Sunday, Sept. 25, at 4 p.m. Both the festival and concert take place at Seeger Memorial Chapel on the campus of Milligan College.
In addition to the festival choirs of almost 200 singers, five community ensembles will be featured in the final concert.
They include ETSU’s BucsWorth Men’s Choir, Milligan’s Heard Mentality, the Appalachian Express Barbershop Chorus, the Appalachian Men’s Ensemble and MECCA Men (Mountain Empire Children’s Choral Academy).
Male singers of all ages are invited to join the festival choir that will rehearse Sept. 24-25. A boys’ festival choir, conducted by Jane Morison and open to all students in fourth grade and up who have unchanged voices, will run concurrently with the adult choir. The two festival choirs will perform together in the finale of the Sunday concert.
“The past two years have been an incredible experience for over 300 singers, and we are looking forward to building on this tradition,” said Dr. Alan Stevens, associate director of choral activities in the ETSU Department of Music, who founded the festival in 2014. “Singers have ranged from age 8 to 82. We want men in the region to be aware of the outstanding singing opportunities available in the Tri-Cities no matter their age.”
The adult festival choir will be led by Stevens and Dr. Noah DeLong, associate professor of choral music at Milligan College.
“We are excited that the Men in Song Festival is returning to the Milligan College campus,” DeLong said. “It is a great opportunity to celebrate the fine singing that happens all across our region and to encourage men of all ages to participate.”
Participation in the festival is free for all students through college, courtesy of a donation from Jim and Sandra Powell. Adult registration is $15 and includes all music and lunch on Saturday. No advance preparation is required; all music will be learned at the festival rehearsals.
For a complete schedule and registration, visit www.etsu.edu/meninsong. Advance registration is encouraged but not required.
For more information, contact DeLong at NDeLong@milligan.edu, 423.461.8791, or Stevens at stevensae2@etsu.edu, 423.439.4725.