Director begins final season of 33-year term; U. Singers perform Sunday

An assortment of water bottles sat at the feet of rehearsal chairs on the Auer Hall stage Monday afternoon. Filling those seats, a group of casually dressed coeds awaited instruction from director Jan Harrington. He appeared, conducting wand in hand, and a few short waves later, this seemingly average group of young people had transformed into a sophisticated, classically trained ensemble known as the University Singers.\nWith less than a week until its concert Sunday, the group stopped and started frequently, fine-tuning the complexities that can arise when performing a piece by Johann Sebastian Bach.\nHarrington, who is a professor and chair of the choral department, is in his last year directing the group. This year will also be his last teaching at the University, concluding his 33-year stay. With only three more concerts to go for Harrington, he said he carefully chose the song selection. \n"I try to do some Bach every year, and since it's my last year, I wanted to do this repertoire. It's a bench-mark concert," he said.\nHarrington and the rest of the choir are dedicating this concert to Robert Samels, Zachary Novak, Georgina Joshi, Chris Carducci and Garth Eppley -- music students who were killed in a plane crash last year. Samels, Carducci and Novak had all been members of the University Singers. The concert is also dedicated to Alfred Bailey, a graduate student who died this summer from an illness. \nHarrington said the performance will last about an hour and a half and will be filled with singing, occasionally accompanied by organ and cello. \n"The entire concert is Bach, so it makes for a heavy and intense performance," said graduate student Colleen Hughes, who has been a part of the ensemble for five years. "To me, Bach is the father of modern music -- music's very beginning. It's great music."\nHarrington, who has conducted the ensemble since 1973 -- his first year teaching at IU -- said the group isn't limited to singing Bach and other classics. \n"These singers are very skilled in singing a wide range of musical styles," he said. "I am very privileged to conduct singers of this caliber."\nAbout 400 students audition each year to become singers in one of the ensembles offered through the music school. Only about 32 become University Singers. Created more than 50 years ago, the University Singers remains the oldest continuing choral ensemble in the Jacobs School of Music. \nThe University Singers perform at 8 p.m. Sunday in Auer Hall, located in the Simon Music Library and Recital Center on Jordan Avenue. For more information visit the Jacobs School of Music Web site at www.music.indiana.edu/events.