Vinson Pressley/ Staff Writer
The shower is no longer the only place where you can hit the high notes of your favorite songs.
Starting this fall, students will be able to bring their interest to sing to a musical environment.
University Chorale with class sections MUN1340, MUN3343 and MUN5345 will be held at the Biscayne Bay Campus on Tuesdays from 7 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. in the Wolfe University Center Room 100.
Both courses are one credit each and will be taught by University and Master Chorales Director, Mary Adelyn Kauffman. Students will be exposed to classical as well as contemporary music during the course.
The course will be open to all members of the FIU community and no experience or audition will be required to participate in the ensemble. Students can sign up now since the courses are already in the catalog.
Kauffman said those students who sign up for the ensemble will be taught the technical aspects of music, such as how to read music, how to breathe correctly and how to produce sounds, so they will not be required to have extensive knowledge about music on the first day of class.
Although not much experience is required to participate in the ensemble, hard work is. According to the Division of Vocal/Choral Studies Coordinator Robert B. Dundas, entering the world of music requires several hours of work a week.
“A lot of rehearsing, practicing and performing are an integral part of music,” said Dundas.
The purpose of the ensemble is to give members of the FIU community who may not be music majors or have extensive knowledge about music a chance to pursue an interest in singing, as was mentioned by Kauffman. Kauffman said that people want to sing but hesitate to do so due to lack of training.
“Most people who say ‘I can’t sing,’ just don’t sing because of lack of experience,” said Kauffman.
Dundas brought up the idea of creating a similar ensemble that was already at the Modesto A. Maidique Campus to BBC and is very optimistic about these two courses.
“I have been pleasantly surprised from the positive feedback [from students and staff]. It is always been a good response” said Dundas.
Dundas mentioned the benefits of joining the ensemble as it will provide a “full rich experience” and give students an alternative to singing in the shower as well as sharper one’s knowledge of music.
“I have a powerful belief in the power of choral music. It’s hard to be in a bad mood when you’re singing,” said Kauffman.
“Everybody loves music and secretly loves to sing,” said Eleanor Salinel, a freshman communications major who sang in a choir for two years while in middle school. Salinel said she really likes to sing because it allows freedom of expression and stress release.
“It comes freely [and] if you have stress, just sing it out,” she said.
If the courses are successful, there could be a possibility of bigger projects to come. According to Kauffman, there will be a concert at the end of the fall semester that will include members from the ensemble courses as well as students who are music majors and are in the choir. This concert is scheduled for early December.
Kauffman is driven by one goal: “I want to get everybody singing.”
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