The Mississippi College Singers is a mixed-voice, auditioned ensemble that is the premier choral group of the department of music. Presenting a diverse repertoire of accompanied and unaccompanied literature, this choir has performed throughout the United States, including Washington National Cathedral, Carnegie Hall, and most recently, Lincoln Center in January 2012.  International concert locales include England, Italy, Slovenia, Germany, Austria, and the Republic of South Africa. Invitational performances include feature concerts at Mississippi Day at the Washington National Cathedral in 2003, the annual meeting of the Mississippi Convention of American Choral Directors Association and National Association for Music Education in 2002, 2007, 2010, 2012, and 2014, the 2004 ACDA Southern Division Convention in Nashville, the 2008 ACDA Southern Division Convention in Louisville’s Kentucky Center for the Arts, the 2014 ACDA Southern Division Convention in Jacksonville’s Jacoby Hall, and the 2005 ACDA National Convention at Disney Hall in Los Angeles, California.
 

Viola Dacus, mezzo-soprano has appeared throughout the Southeast, as well as Israel, Jordan, and Greece, as a recitalist and as soloist in opera, oratorio, and concert venues.  She has performed with such organizations as Baton Rouge Opera, Ohio Light Opera, Mississippi Opera, and the Louisiana Philharmonic.  In 2005 she performed at Carnegie Hall in a performance of Verdi’s Requiem.  She has sung frequently with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra including performances of Mahler’s Rückert Lieder, Britten’s Phaedra, and Reflections in the Mirror of Childhood, a song cycle composed for her by the highly awarded Mississippi composer James Sclater. She is currently on the voice faculty of Mississippi College.

Dan Forrest has been described as “a composer of substance” (Columbus Dispatch), whose works are have been hailed as “…magnificent, very cleverly constructed sound sculpture” (San Francisco Classical Voice), and  “superb choral writing…full of spine-tingling moments” (Salt Lake Tribune). Born in 1978, Dan is a pianist-turned-composer whose music has already established a lasting presence in the U.S. and abroad.

Dan’s choral works have received numerous awards and distinctions, including the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer’s Award, the ACDA Raymond Brock Award, Meet The Composer grants, the Raabe Prize, the Donald Sutherland Endowment award, and many others. His “A Basque Lullaby” for wind band was included in Volume 8 of the well-known Teaching Music Through Performance In Band series. His music has been broadcast on NPR’s “Performance Today”, and has been performed in leading venues across the country and around the world, including Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center.

Recent and upcoming performances of Dan’s music include the premiere of Entreat Me Not To Leave You at the 2012 World Choral Symposium in Argentina; a new setting of the Navy Hymn commissioned for a President’s Day memorial concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; Himenami, commissioned by the Tenjo Hanabi choir (Osaka, Japan) in memorial of the Japanese tsunami; two premieres at the 2013 National ACDA conference in Dallas; and a commission for the Westminster Choir College Readings and Carols in Princeton Chapel, December 2013. His new major work,  Requiem for the Living, received overwhelming acclaim at its premiere in March 2013, and is scheduled for numerous upcoming performances across the US and around the world, including multiple performances in Carnegie Hall in 2014.

Dan has a choral series in his name with Hinshaw Music and serves as associate editor at Beckenhorst Press. He has served as an adjudicator for numerous composition contests (including the John Ness Beck Foundation and the Southern Division MTNA), has been recognized in Who’s Who In America multiple times, and currently serves on the editorial board of the peer-reviewed journal The Artistic Theologian. Dan keeps a full schedule of commissions, workshops, and residencies with universities, churches, and community choirs, and remains active as an accompanist and recording producer.

Dan holds a doctoral degree in composition from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree in piano performance. He is a former professor of music at Bob Jones University, where he served as Department Head of Music Theory and Composition for several years.

Arrow Singers is an all auditioned performing group that makes up five different choral ensembles at Clinton High School. Colla Voce, Vivace, Varisity Men, and Bella Vida. All choirs consistently receive superior ratings at District and State Choral Festivals. Last year, Colla Voce and Vivace received the Sweepstakes Choral Award at the Mississippi State Choral Festival, getting all superiors from each judge as well as a superior rating in Sight Reading. This is Arrow Singers second time to perform in Carnegie Hall. 

Massimo Carpegna (Turin, 1955) Graduated in Choral Music and Conducting and has followed specialized courses in Orchestra Conducting. For the Alpine Ski World Championship opening ceremony, Bormio 2005, he composed the score It's Time to Celebrate, transmitted worldwide. For the Winter Sport Italian Federation he composed the official anthem, Honour and Glory. Carpegna also composed the anthem The Five Rings for the Olympic Games in Turin, 2006, transmitted by RAISAT Sport. Since 1984 he has taught Choral Practice and Music and Moving Image at the Conservatoire in Modena. Carpegna has recorded nine CDs with his compositions; he also organised the tutorial with Mirella Freni, The Puccinian Heroines, and collaborated in the documentary, Luciano Pavarotti and the Italian Tenor, produced by the New York Center of Visual History. Since 2012 he is the principal conductor of the Serial Singers part of Associazione Gioacchino Rossini, Modena, Italy.

www.massimocarpegna.com

Tactus is the Varsity Men's Choir at Borah High School in Boise, ID. They were formed in 1994 as an afterschool group by some students who wanted to sing some men's a capella music. The group grew in popularity and after three years it became an elective choice and a class during the regular school day. Tactus has performed for numerous State and Regional Conventions and Conferences for both the American Choral Director's Association and the National Association of Music Education. They consistently receive superior ratings at local festivals and do more than 30 concerts and performances a year. Tactus sings a variety of music from Gregorian Chant to the popular tunes of today. So what is "TACTUS"? Well, the Oxford dictionary says: a principal accent or rhythmic unit, especially in 15th and 16th century music. For Borah, Tactus, is the pulse within. Year after year Tactus' charisma, energy, love of music, natural talent, brotherhood and ability to have fun at all times makes the group the pulse of Borah Choirs. All of the Borah Choirs hold a special role for the department, but Tactus is definitely the heartbeat. It is what keeps everyone on their toes at ALL times!

The Calgary Men's Chorus Society is a dynamic non-profit society dedicated to excellence in the performance of men's choral music. The Chorus is open to all men. Our programs and performances are a tribute to the richness and beauty of male choral music. Since its inception in 1994, the Calgary Men's Chorus has established its place in the Calgary Arts Community while remaining an important component of Calgary's GLBT community. The CMC believes in coming together in song, in the power of music and its ability to build bridges and remove walls. We believe in reaching out to others. 

James M. Meaders is Professor and Director of Choral Activities at Mississippi College.  A member of the MC faculty since 1998, Dr. Meaders conducts the Mississippi College Singers, teaches applied voice, and heads the graduate program in conducting. The Singers, under Meaders’ direction, have performed on Mississippi (2002, 2007, 2010, 2012), Southern Division (2004, 2008), and National (2005) ACDA convention programs. He has conducted the Singers in Canterbury Cathedral, Washington National Cathedral, four international tours including Germany, Italy, Austria, England, and South Africa, three recent performances in Carnegie Hall, and a January 2012 performance in Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center.
 
In 2004-2005, Meaders was selected by the Mississippi College faculty as Distinguished Lecturer in Arts and Sciences and was Humanities Professor of the Year.
Meaders has served on the Board of MS ACDA as President and R&S Chair for Youth and Student Activities, and he has served Southern Division ACDA as R&S Chair for Youth and Student Activities and, currently, R&S Chair for Colleges and Universities.
He was a member of the Format and Organization committee of the recently published hymnal, Celebrating Grace. Dr. Meaders is the co-founder of the International Center for Collaboration in the Musical Arts, a conducting education project based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
 
Dr. Meaders is a frequent festival adjudicator, presenter, and clinician. In addition to his work at Mississippi College, he was Artistic Director of the Jackson Choral Society from 2002-2008, and he has been minister of music at Northside Baptist Church in Clinton since 2001.  He has conducted the Mississippi Baptist All-State Youth Choir since 2003. Professional memberships include American Choral Directors Association and the National Association of Teachers of Singing. After completing undergraduate and graduate degrees from Mississippi College, he received the Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, where he studied with Milburn Price and John Dickson.