November 18, 2016
By Paragon News Director Paul Joseph –
A talented group of SWOSU singers will be hob-knobbing with Grammy award winners.
The “Mighty Tau Phi Singers,” comprised of 20 members of Southwestern Oklahoma State University’s Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia in Weatherford have been selected to attend the inaugural U.S. King’s Singers Summer School next year.
The SWOSU men gained entry to the elite program by auditioning.
The King’s Singers, a British a cappella men’s ensemble, originated in 1968 at King’s College Cambridge, where the choral scholars studied under the direction of Sir David Wilcox. Over the course of 48 years, they have made over 150 recordings and earned two Grammys and one Emmy. The King’s Singers plan to host the U.S. residential summer school every two years.
While at the summer school, on June 13-19, 2017, at DePauw University in Greencastle (IN), the men will stay in on-campus housing, take all meals together and follow a rigorous daily schedule including warm-up/vocal technique sessions led by the King’s Singers, several performances opportunities, informal concerts and a final day gala concert. They will be asssigned a member of the King’s Singers who will mentor them throughout the week.
The 20 men from SWOSU represent six departments outside of the Department of Music and the majority only study voice as a secondary degree requirement.
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