Max Noah Singers to Perform in Europe

By Emily McClure

Georgia College’s Max Noah Singers have been invited to perform at an international festival in Budapest, Hungary and Vienna, Austria this May. The Max Noah Singers are one of only two college choral groups from the United States invited to participate in this festival.

“This will be the first time that a choral ensemble from Georgia College has gone abroad,” the group’s director, Jennifer Flory said. “This is a huge deal. This is the first time we’ve been able to put something like this together.”

Flory submitted a recording as the group’s audition for this opportunity and received email invitations from both Dr. Larry Wyatt, the artistic director of the KI festival, and Oliver Scofield, the Executive Chairman of KIConcerts.

In Budapest, at their performance of Joseph Hadyn’s Lord Nelson Mass, the Max Noah Singers will be accompanied by a full orchestra for the first time. The mass will take place in St. Peter’s Church, which was founded in the fourth century and is the second oldest church in Vienna.

“Being able to represent Georgia College and the state of Georgia at an international level is a huge honor,” Brent Goldsmith, a member of the Max Noah Singers said. “Also, being able to sing with a professional orchestra in one of the countries where some of the top composers of all time were from is pretty amazing.”

This trip holds benefit for the singers’ future careers, as well.

“Especially for the folks that are continuing on in music, I think it’s really good for their résumés in terms of graduate school and even for getting teaching jobs,” Flory said.

In addition to being an impressive résumé item, this trip will enhance the group’s profile.

“If successful, it opens tons of doors for trips in the future,” Tevauri Mar-shall, another ensemble member said.

The Max Noah Singers received the invitation in May 2015, so the group has been looking forward to this trip for nine months. This academic year, as they have learned and performed some difficult pieces of music, the group members have become very close, Goldsmith said.

“They are some of the most talented people that I’ve ever been around, personally,” he said.

The Max Noah Singers are selling t-shirts as a fundraiser for their trip. Those interested in making a donation or purchasing a t-shirt can contact GC’s Department of Music for more information.