THE MIXOLYDIANS

Spring Concert!

2011-04-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

Chester 2010

2010-03-01T21:10:00.000-08:00

Exciting Stuff

2010-02-16T19:33:00.000-08:00

First performance of the semester!
We'll be singing at the Chester Winter Carnivale this Sunday (Feb 21) from about 10am to 12noon; it's gonna be fun so come!
More information: http://www.visit-chester.com/major_annual_events/Winter_Carnivale.html

It's an exciting semester also because we have grown to a group of 18 people - largest we have had since the Mixolydians was born in 2006!!
Welcome Aaron, Abraham, Brian, Dylan and Leah; and also welcome Becca, Emma and Max back from Europe!

Sneaks and Peaks from the Fall

2009-12-24T08:47:00.000-08:00

What's exciting to watch our old videos and track our progress with the new videos is that we track how the colour of the ensemble changes from year to year with new members, maturing in musicianship and subtlety in the older members. We're proud to present this small selection of our vocal favorites from our Fall 2009 concert, and here's to more serenading in the hallowed halls of our dear old Wesleyan!

Kungala, Stephen Leek

Matona, Mia Cara, Orlando de Lassus

My personal favorite:
Ave Verum Corpus, Francis Poulenc

Ho-ja-ja, Ho-ja-ja, Otmar Macha

Echo, Robert Young

Shenandoah, arr. Darmon Meader

Notes after the Fall (semester)

2009-12-13T10:45:00.000-08:00

This is your resident singer Hansel speaking; *tests mic*: time to wipe the sweat off the brow and send those vocal cords into rehab! The Mixolydians are more-or-less done with their Fall semester, and it's simply amazing to see how much we've grown in musicianship, strength and musical vigor. Sure, we're a little bite-size at 10, but the music we've made continues to push our boundaries, challenge expectations, challenge listening codes. So here's a little round-up of our Fall Semester so far:

1. Freshmen Orientation Concert
Poised outside Usdan, the collective a cappella groups make their first show to potential freshmen. Reuniting with some past members, we struck out Holloran's "Witness" once more, and a few other happy tunes

2. Family Weekend A cappella Concert
The new frosh make their first-ever appearance in Crowell Concert Hall, milking notes for their worth with Carillo's heart-melting O Magnum Mysterium, and the rollicking crowd-favorite "Wade in the Water". Yes, even with key change.

3. The Mixolydians Fall Concert
Our annual concert, celebrating our 4th year in existence. Technically, the mixes are sizzling seniors in collegiate age, rolling out some old favorites of ours such as an aleatoric rendition of "Viva La Musica", Stephen Leek's hand-clapping/foot-stomping "Kungala" and some feisty loving with Orlando de Lassus' "Matona Mia Cara". A special section this year went to the celebration of the female voice, with performances of "Hojaja!" and - my personal favorite - Francis Poulenc's "Ave Verum Corpus", a piece written in 1952 during his postsecular religious turn after numerous gruesome deaths of his friends. The blood-curdling "Corpus Christi" gives me shivers all the time. Also, we return a word of thanks to our American sponsors with "Shenandoah" and "Wade in the Water".

4. Caroling in New Haven
One word: COLD.

5. Performance for the Middletown Commerce Meeting

So, with these and others under our belt, we look forward to a new semester of singing, of challenging repertoire, of no-holds-barred blissful music-making.

And the youtube videos are a'coming in. Keep listening.

THE ARTS ARE NOW PART OF A BALANCED DIET

2009-12-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

Want to get your recommended daily intake of arts? Want a cool and fluffy white beard like this kid has… just in time for Santa season?* Just want to hear some beautiful choral tunes?

Come hear the Mixolydians perform and experience the power of the arts! With music by Rautavaara, Poulenc, Orlando de Lasus, and more!

- December 4th (Friday)
- 8:30pm
- Memorial Chapel

Sing! Audition for the Mixolydians

2009-09-08T22:25:00.001-07:00

The Mixolydians is looking for singers! We sing an eclectic selection of music: classic and contemporary choral work, madrigals, pieces from all over the world... anything we can lay our hands on!

Wednesday 9/9 and Thursday 9/10
4:30-6:00pm
@ basement of the Memorial Chapel

Come with a 1-2 minute short piece! All voice parts welcome :)

Also check us out at on youtube! Search "themixolydians" for all our past concert :)

Spring Concert 2009

2009-09-08T22:12:00.000-07:00

Finally... updates on Spring 2009 Concert

This Marriage - Eric Whitacre

Tambur - Hungarian Dancing Song

Ubi Caritas - Ola Gjeilo

I love my love - folk

Aww.... that was our last concert with Brittany, Keith and Owen... hey you're already missed!

See our whole concert here :) http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=15EBB4A06F42D0B3

Spring 2009 Final Concert!!

2009-05-06T18:53:00.000-07:00

Hello to all of our fans!

This Saturday, May 9th, 7pm, Memorial Chapel, Wesleyan University. We will be holding our Spring 2009 Final Concert!

Come for a break from your studies, for great music, to hear something different from the other a capella concerts, or just to see some beautiful people!
Also, this will be the final concert for Owen Bennion, Brittany Fowler, and Keith Lee, class of 2009.

The picture is a dulaman, a seaweed from the yellow cliffs. It is also one of our songs.

Cheers,
The Mixolydians

That semester before summer.

2008-07-10T09:20:00.000-07:00

Sneaks of Spring

2008-05-20T15:50:00.001-07:00

Thank you Holing for posting these videos online!

Here's a snapshot (one that moves and sings) of our Spring Concert 2008 ... enjoy!

"Ithema Lami"

"PokPok Alimpako"

"O Magnum Mysterium"

"Tosaka Mimasaka"

Thanks for all the support, and keep listening!

What a Concert!

2008-05-09T23:42:00.000-07:00

Despite the minor downpour we experienced this afternoon, we'd like to thank each and every one of you for coming to the Mixolydians Spring Concert! It was an eventful performance that was extremely well received by the Wesleyan community.

Thank you all for making it a success!

Today's Concert

2008-05-09T07:04:00.000-07:00

Pok Pok Alimpako!

2008-05-03T17:41:00.000-07:00

The Mixolydians are back for their Fourth ever music-infusion!

"Pokpok Alimpako Pok!" (Pound your hands) and get ready for a different sonic palette, as the Mixolydians present their fourth offering of choral music! For once, deny Bach, Beethoven and Brahms their stage-time, and enjoy startling new choral music from Europe and Southeast Asia.

Don't miss this rare opportunity to sample works by composers such as Francisco Feliciano (Philippines), Gyorgy Orban (Hungary), Zachariah Goh (Singapore), Ko Matsushita (Japan) and Victor Paranjoti (India). From muslim chants, sacred motets to plain zany children's game-songs, we dare you to engage your ears.

VENUE: WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY MEMORIAL CHAPEL
DATE: 9 MAY 2008 (FRIDAY)
TIME: 3pm

Don't miss it!

Notes from a singer

2008-03-05T05:57:00.000-08:00

Where are our manners!

We would like to congratulate and welcome three fabulous new additions to our ensemble this semester:

* Becca Cimino '11
* Brenna Wagner '11
* Mike Gaines '11

In addition, of course, to our already fantastic members of this crooning chorale. Currently, we're on the verge of reeling from mid-terms, and on the cusp of rejoicing on behalf of Spring Break! Lots of interesting things to watch out for this semester to usher in the garlands of Spring. Our Spring concert is currently in the planning, boasting well-known favourites by Sonic artists Eric Whitacre and Morten Lauridsen, as well as other nasty choral swash-buckling works by more obscure scrawlers. Who are nonetheless mind-blowing. Also, as in tradition, we will be presenting a fine offering of Asian Choral Music, some of which have already become firmly cemented in the cannon of new Asian works overseas. Furthermore, and mark my word of excitement, we have students from Wesleyan University's Music Department penning original never-before-heard works for us - all the more reason to WATCH THIS SPACE.

Till then, have a pain-free shot of mid-terms, followed by an awesome Spring Break: nothing less is expected.

18th Annual Chester Winter Carnivale

2008-02-19T09:38:00.000-08:00

On the 17th of February, The Mixolydians trooped down to the charming town of Chester for the 18th Annual Chester Winter Carnivale - a half-day celebration involving members of the local community. Besides crooning along the streets, we made multiple pilgrimages to the local Art Gallery to sing - in exchange, of course, for hot chocolate and home-made whipped cream!

Some photographs from our recent exploits...

In loving memory of Chase Parr '10

2007-12-24T16:49:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, the 21st of December, Chase Parr '10 (Soprano 1) and her family were involved in a car accident and were killed, while her sister Katy Parr is stil currently in critical condition.

Chase Parr was a member of the Mixolydians from Spring 2007 to Fall 2007. She participated enthusiastically in all our music-making activities and sang her first concert with us this Fall Semester. It was also the last concert she gave. Chase Parr was alway positive, encouraging, and a blessing to everyone that had the privilege of her acquaintance. She was a gifted musician and singer; her immense talent was only surpassed by her dedication to her family, friends and to the music we made together. Chase's wonderful character always lit up rehearsals; her contribution to the success of our previous concert and to the bright energy of the group is immeasurable.

We are extremely shocked and deeply saddened by her passing, and we send condolences to Katy Parr and the relatives of the Parr family. She will be dearly missed by all of us, and she will be fondly remembered.

Rest well, Chase, we love you.

Chase Parr, 7th from the right

Successful Winter Concert!

2007-12-12T15:31:00.000-08:00

Dear all, thank you for gracing our Winter Concert! I'm sure you will all agree that it was wonderful, and we would like to thank everyone for making this concert a great success. Attached below are some youtube videos you can view of our concert and of some of our songs. We received many trememdously encouraging comments from you, ranging from "incredible" to "phenomenal", testifying to all the hard work we put in to bring this challenging (And somewhat eccentric) repertoire to audiences in Wesleyan University.

Look out for us next year! Keep your eyes (and ears) pealed...

"Suite" de Lorca: El Grito (Rautavaara)

"Suite" de Lorca: La Luna Asoma

"Suite" de Lorca: Malaguena

Ave Maria (Javier Busto)

Magic Songs: Chant for the Spirit of Hunted Animals (R. Murray Schaefer)

Zefiro (Claudio Monteverdi)

A Boy and a Girl (Whitacre)

Witness (Jack Holloran)

Concert at 8pm

2007-12-11T09:48:00.001-08:00

Please not that the concert will commence at 8pm (not 7pm).
Thank you for your attention.

See you there, in the Chapel at 8pm tonight!!

Program for "Of Cycles & Seasons"

2007-12-07T08:51:00.001-08:00

Here's the program, folks! See you on Tuesday, 8pm @ the Memorial Chapel.

Of Cycles & Seasons

2007-12-04T10:21:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since we have updated this blog, and we proudly present:

- Of Cycles & Seasons -
A Choral Concert of Change

"Come chill with the sounds of solstice on the first day of reading week. Presenting the sonic landscapes of Veljo Tormis, the howling terror of Lorca's poetry, the whispers of Zephir and the unutterable tales of love and loss. The alcohol can wait till after!"

The Mixolydians winter concert. It is also our first formal concert after we expanded into a group of 15, so we are excited!

- Dec 11 (Tue) -
First day of reading week
8pm @ Memorial Chapel
Admission is free

Memorial Chapel: 221 High Street, Middletown, CT

Fall 07 Auditions

2007-09-03T19:42:00.000-07:00

The Mixolydians:

MUSICAL ENCOUNTERS IN CHAMBER SINGING
MUSC 419 (01) FALL 2007
Credits: 1.00

The Mixolydians are auditioning classical singers for their 07/08 season. Challenging and exciting repertoire includes (but not limited to) works by RAUTAVAARA, WHITACRE, LAURIDSEN, TORMIS and more.

Open (walk in Auditions) will be held as follows:

Wed 5 Sept
Mon 10 Sept

Time: 4.30 - 6.30pm

Venue: Music Studios (Basement of the Music Department)

Callbacks and/or further walk-in auditions will be held on Wed 12 Sept during the same time slot.

Currently, The Mixolydians rehearse Mondays and Wednesdays, 4.30-6.30pm. Rehearsals are rigorous, intensive and require singers to be committed to the repertoire and to the ensemble. We learn difficult music at a relatively high pace, so singers should preferably be adept at sight-singing. There will be several performance events during the course of the semester which wil be confirmed upon admission, culminating in a final end-of-semester concert to be held in the Memorial Chapel during reading week. For additional information, please contact themixolydians@gmail.com or htan@wesleyan.edu

Photos from Basant!

2007-09-03T19:27:00.000-07:00

BASANT! was extremely well - a big thank-you to all for making this concert possible.

"BASANT!"

2007-05-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

"Basant!" - Spring Concert 2007

2007-05-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

featuring works by:
Busto, Chen-Yi, Feliciano, Grau, Holst, Leek and many more!

Come support the Mixes!

New Members!

2007-04-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

The Mixolydians would like to warmly welcome our new members to the group!

EunHye Lee '07
Chase Parr '10
Justin Bours '10
Liza Yeva Litvina '10

Mixolydians Spring Auditions

2007-02-25T15:25:00.000-08:00

Audition for us!
email either myself (htan@wesleyan.edu) or the official mix email (themixolydians@gmail.com) to set up a slot.
Auditions will be held March 3 & 7th

See you there!

The Mixolydians in print

2007-02-23T17:38:00.000-08:00

The Wesleyan Argus
Features - February 23, 2007

Alum transforms local carnivale

By Keren Daskin
Contributing Writer

This past Sunday, the small town of Chester, CT was overflowing with magicians, musicians, minstrels, jugglers, and jesters. The entertainment was all part of the 17th Annual Chester Winter Carnivale, organized by Brianna Williams '97.

"The Chester Winter Carnivale was a typical small town New England Celebration," Williams said. "It was originally started…as a way to bring people to town in the middle of February, a month when business is usually slow and not much is going on."

The Carnivale used to consist of a chili cook-off, a tractor parade, and an ice carving competition. But this year, under the guidance of Williams and her husband Ron, the direction of the Carnivale was dramatically altered.

"We wanted to create an exotic, fantastical atmosphere, sort of like a cross between a gypsy carnival and a circus. Think Cirque du Soleil," Williams said.

With this goal in mind, Williams chose to add an "e" at the end of the word carnival.

"It gave shops a chance to represent their typical Carnivale celebrations—whether New Orleans Mardi Gras or Italian Carnivale—and allowed us to bring in a costumed aspect with masks," Williams said.

The bulk of the organizating took place in just under seven weeks. Through extensive research and interviews, Williams was able to bring in a plethora of performers and artists. Performances at the Carnivale included Phoenix Swords Fire Acts, world champion juggler Tony Duncan, the Chester Fife and Drum Corps, and the Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Group.
Williams also knew that she could count on her alma mater for talented individuals who would understand the objectives of the Carnivale.

"I never considered approaching any other universities besides Wes," Williams said. "My husband contacted every group in the WSA who might be a good fit, and let me say, they were wonderful!"

Student performers included "Slipper and the Bean," also known as Nick Nauman '07 and Nick Earhart '07, two strolling jesters who mingled with the crowd, singing songs and playing benign jokes.

"The Carnivale was a great time," Nauman said. "We mostly enjoyed tweaking the moods of Chester's denizens to smiles and joy."

Even the snow could not put a damper on the audience's mood.
"It snowed so hard that we had to blow on our scores mid-pitch in order to clear the flakes that had accumulated on our folders," said Hansel Tan '10, who performed at the Carnivale with the Mixolydian singing group. "But our audiences didn't seem to mind, everyone was in a state of good cheer."

Other University performers included fire-spinning duo Albert Hill '07 and Arthur Sugden '08 of The Flaming Eagles.
"Unfortunately, due to insurance coverage issues we could not let them play with fire, but they also did a great job strolling through the crowd and teaching people how to do fire spinning, minus the fire," Williams said.

The Balkan Situations performed classic Eastern European gypsy music.

"One woman said that [the group] made her want to jump on a table and start belly dancing and it was all she could do to hold back, to which her husband replied, 'Damn, woman! Let's get back there and listen some more!'" said Ron Williams.
This year, a much bigger crowd turned out at the festival then ever before, and everyone who attended seemed to enjoy it.

"The 18th of February couldn't have been a better date for the Carnivale," Tan said. "The weather was perfect, families were out and having fun, it was also the Chinese New Year. There was an infectious air of festivity all around. None of us had been to Chester before, and I remember when we drove into the town we suddenly perked up at the sight of its quaint historical houses and wonderfully eccentric mix of shops and galleries."
"The Chester Winter Carnivale was the best day of our lives," Nauman said.

Copyright 2004, 2005, The Wesleyan Argus. All Rights Reserved.

The 17th Annual Chester Winter Carnivale, 18 Feb 2007

2007-02-20T20:46:00.000-08:00

On 18 Feb 2007, The Mixolydians were invited to sing at the 17th Annual Chester Winter Carnivale as part of the ongoing festivities. The Mixolydians presented a repertoire of madrigals, rounds and partsongs, as well as a Chinese folk melody to celebrate Chinese New Year, which fell on the same day.

Picture: Performing at the historical Chester Meeting House

Spring 2007 Chinese New Year Extravaganza, 17 Feb 2007

2007-02-20T09:26:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone, here are some pictures from Wesleyan University's Chinese New Year extravaganza 2007 held on Saturday the 17th of February. To usher in the year of the boar, the Mixolydians did a two-song set of Chen Yi's robust setting of "Riding on a mule" and Orlando de Lassus' light hearted "Matona Mia Cara".

Pictures from the 17th Annual Chester Winter Carnivale to come!

The Mixolydians Debut Christmas Concert, Fall 2006

2007-02-19T16:43:00.000-08:00

On Thursday 14 December 2006, The Mixolydians performed in their debut concert, featuring an evening of madrigals, motets and Christmas carols. Thank you to everyone who came down to support us!

Also check out the snippets from our concert below:

Ave Maria (Composer: Javier Busto)

Cest Moi de May

2007-02-19T11:23:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone and welcome to the Mixolydians Website: updates, photos and upcoming concerts will be posted shortly!