Charleston Symphony Orchestra Spiritual Ensemble Hosts Sixth Annual Charleston Festival of Choirs Saturday, April 26, 2014 Free and Open to the Public

Allison Savicz, Publicist, announces:

Charleston SC April 16, 2014─The Charleston Festival of Choirs committee is pleased to announce the Sixth Annual Charleston Festival of Choirs, Saturday, April 26, 2014. This free, one-day festival will feature world-renowned conductor and choral clinician Dr. Craig Jessop, former Music Director of the world famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Dr. Jessop will serve at Festival Director and conduct the participating choirs in a finale Massed Sing Saturday, April 26 at 5:00pm.

The CSO Spiritual Ensemble will serve as host choir and present a performance that will be proceeded by the Choral Arts Experience, Mt. Pleasant SC; Island Choraliers Kiawah and Seabrook Island SC; Riverside High School Chorus, Durham NC, Bartram Trail High School Festival Choir, St. John’s FL; and the acclaimed CSO Gospel Choir under the direction of Candace B. McLeod.  

The festival is a joint venture between Lee Pringle, founder and President of the CSO Spiritual Ensemble and CSO Gospel Choir, Jodi Breckenridge, owner, Music Contact International of Burlington, Vermont and Marilyn Austin, former choral director at Wando High School.

Charleston Festival of Choirs Schedule April 26, 2014

free and open to the public; freewill donations accepted

Circular Congregational Church, 150 Meeting Street, downtown Charleston

1:30pm            Choral Arts Experience, Mt. Pleasant SC; Michelle Graham, Director

2:00pm            Island Choraliers, Kiawah Island SC; Nat Malcolm, Director

2:30pm            Riverside High School Chorus Choir, Durham NC; Jill Boliek, Director

3:00pm            Bartram Trail High School Festival Choir, St. John’s FL;

                        Barbara Mattingly, Director

3:30pm            CSO Spiritual Ensemble, Charleston SC; David A. Richardson, Director

4:00pm            CSO Gospel Choir, Charleston SC; Candace B. McLeod, Director

5:00pm            Finale Massed Sing 100 + Voices, Dr. Craig Jessop,

                        Charleston Festival of Choirs Director

 

Dr. Craig Jessop, Festival Director

Craig D. Jessop is an American academic, musician and singer best known for his tenure as the music director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir from 1999 to 2008. He was a student of Robert Shaw and received his B.A. from Utah State University, M.A. from Brigham Young University and D.M.A. from Stanford University. He has been the director of the National High School Choir Festival since its founding in 2005.. He has also spent seven years as a baritone with the Robert Shaw Festival Singers and performed in the choirs of Helmuth Rilling and John Rutter.

Jessop earned a doctorate of musical arts in conducting and performance practice from Stanford University with an earlier master's degree in music education from Brigham Young University. He completed a bachelor's degree in music education at USU in 1973. Prior to his association with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Jessop had a distinguished career as a Lieutenant Colonel from the United States Air Force, where he was director of the Singing Sergeants (1979-1987), commander/conductor, Band of the United States Air Forces in Europe (1987-91) and commander/conductor of the Air Combat Command Heartland of American Band (1991-95

Under Jessop's direction the Mormon Tabernacle Choir won many awards, including the Special Recognition Award from the International Radio and Television Society Foundation and a National Medal of Arts presented by George W. Bush. He is director of the American Festival Chorus, a new 270-member choir headquartered at Utah State University and in 2010 Jessop became the first Dean of the Caine College of the Arts (CCA) at Utah State, created out of a split of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences into two colleges: CCA and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

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