"Wassail! Christmas in Merrie Olde England"

Come enjoy UTD's oldest cultural tradition in proper English style with music and readings from the time of King Henry VIII and Elizabeth the First. A surprise visit by Santa will liven up the evening's entertainment. After the concert, join us for a special reception with hot-spiced cider and old-fashioned Christmas goodies. An event for the whole family! Featuring the UTD Chamber Singers and the Symphonic Brass Quintet under the direction of Kathryn Evans.

The UTD Chamber Singers was formed in 1994 as a performing ensemble of 20-24 singers. The repertoire for the ensemble is selected from a broad range of chamber vocal literature, including both sacred and secular music spanning the Renaissance to the contemporary periods of music history and modern jazz arrangements. The ensemble performs regularly on campus, including performances at the Renaissance Faire, the Annual Holiday Sing during the Fall Semester, and in concert as a Jazz Singers Ensemble in the Spring Semester. The UTD Chamber Singers collaborates with many other ensembles on campus, including the Jazz Ensemble, Guitar Ensemble and Dance Ensemble. They also perform on the Winter and Spring Arts Festivals every semester. In the Spring, the Chamber Singers join the UTD Chorale for a choral concert of large works with orchestra.

Past concerts have included “A Tribute to the Manhattan Transfer,” “All Mozart Concert,” “Swing Thing,” “Birds, Beasts and Bugs,” “A Victorian Christmas” and “A Celebration of Monteverdi.”

Students must audition and be accepted in order to enroll in Chamber Singers. Auditions are arranged in the Spring for new students and before every long semester during the registration periods.

Kathryn Evans joined the faculty of the University of Texas at Dallas in 1994. Currently, she serves as the Associate Dean for the Arts in the School of Arts and Humanities, teaches vocal and choral music, and directs the UTD Chamber Singers. She is an accomplished recitalist and chamber musician, performing in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area and in Europe. Before coming to UTD, she was the Director of the Bach Society Chamber Orchestra and Chorus in La Jolla, California and the Musical Director of the Orpheus Ensemble. She founded and directed the Washington Pro Musica and the Early Music Ensemble of San Diego. She has directed European concert tours of Switzerland, Germany, France and Italy. Ms. Evans holds Master of Arts degrees in Music and in Mathematics from the University of California at San Diego. Ms. Evans has completed tours of music for voice and guitar with fellow faculty member Dr. Enric Madriguera in Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Mexico. Ms. Evans released the CD “Voz y Guitarra” with Dr. Madriguera in October of 2003 and is the Executive Director of the Annual Texas Guitar Competition. She recently appeared as the Mother Abbess in the “Sound of Music” and directed the UTD Chamber Singers in “La Boheme/Rent” at UTD in the fall of 2005.