UA Little Rock Choir Faculty and Members Advance in The American Prize Competitions
Several UA Little Rock faculty and students are being celebrated for their musical achievements as they have advanced to the final stage of a prestigious national music competition.
Dr. Lorissa Mason, director of choral activities, Brent Foster II, a senior music education major, and the members of the UA Little Rock Chamber Singers are all finalists in three different categories of the American Prize competition.
The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts is the nation’s most comprehensive series of contests in the performing arts. The American Prize competitions evaluate, recognize, and reward the best performers, ensembles, composers, directors, and administrators in the U.S.
Mason is a finalist for the American Prize in Choral Conducting – University. The faculty member said that she’s thrilled to be a part of a competition that she has watched many of her mentors and colleagues participate in over the years.
“The fact that I am on the list is an honor,” Mason said. “I am in the company of all my mentors and colleagues along with lots of great friends and colleagues who are still on the list. It’s a journey that we are all enjoying together. And without these wonderful students, I wouldn’t be conducting. I’m honored that my first journey through this American Prize process is with this group of college singers.”
Foster is a finalist for the American Prize in Composition – Choral Division, College Student for the Concert Choir’s performance of Psalm 23.
“I am truly humbled to be receiving this award for my arrangement of Psalm 23,” Foster said. “I am thankful that my university’s Concert Choir was able to premiere this work last year. And being in Chamber Singers challenges me to grow stronger in my musicianship as the repertoire is more advanced than the music selected for the other choirs.”
The UA Little Rock Chamber Singers are finalists for the American Prize in Choral Performance – University for their performances of “Magnificat” (Durante), “O Magnum Mysterium” (Andrej Makor), “Elijah Rock” (Moses Hogan), and “A Boy and a Girl” (Eric Whitacre).
Kaitlyn Kendrick, a senior music and music theory major and member of the UA Little Rock Chamber Singers, said that being chosen as a finalist is an honor and a pleasant surprise.
“When I saw the selections that were submitted, I was thrilled because those songs all meant something to us as singers, and we had many discussions about the music in rehearsal,” Kendrick said. “It’s nice to know that when you work hard on something and pour yourself into that, you are seen. It’s very affirming and humbling.”
Kendrick also credited her participation in the UA Little Rock Chamber Singers for making her the “musician I am today.”
“The music is challenging at times but so rewarding when you have a successful performance,” she said. “The music we sing in Chamber Singers is important and a reflection of the diversity in the music community internationally as well as in our ensemble. I look forward to chamber rehearsal three times a week, and I admire the people I get to sing with. I have never been more consistent with anything in my life than I have with my pursuit of music, and this ensemble definitely pushed me to pursue excellence in all my music. I strongly feel that 10 years from now I will look back on my time and performances with this ensemble with a lot of emotions and nostalgia. I truly love my fellow singers, my director, and our collaborative pianist so much.”
Additionally, the UA Little Rock Chamber Singers were also recognized as semi-finalists for the American Prize in American Music – Choral Division, but they did not advance to the finalist round.
The final winners of the American Prize competitions will be announced in the fall.
