VOCAL ENSEMBLE
The Shelton Singers was the first ensemble to be established in the Shelton State Music Department, and they are still the principle choral performing ensemble on campus. An auditioned concert choir, the choir has performed major works such as the Haydn Lord Nelson Mass, the Faure Requiem, the Vivaldi Gloria, and the Durufle Requiem with chamber orchestra. In collaboration with the UA University Chorus, the Singers presented the Five Mystical Songs by Vaughan Williams, and with the Prentice Concert Chorale, the Singers performed Missa Kenya by Paul Basler and Requiem by Lee Scott. In addition to traditional choral repertoire, the Singers have presented full-scale musicals and operettas and themed concerts such as American Music, Poetry in Music, and International Music. The 50-voice choir has sung in Atlanta, Orlando, Salt Lake City, Honolulu, and 6 times in New York’s Carnegie Hall. On May 21, 2011, they will again sing in Carnegie Hall in A Festival Chorus conducted by Z. Randall Stroop.
Glinda Blackshear, Vocal/Choral Instructor at Shelton State Community College, originated the concept of educating and entertaining school children with an ensemble of college students who sing a variety of music from different composers and styles, thus the name “Bach to Rock”. A typical Bach to Rock show includes art songs in Italian, French, and German, opera arias, spirituals, Gospel songs, jazz, bluegrass, country, pop, rock, R&B, and musical theatre.
The auditioned group of 10-14 students has been performing for over 20 years, with an average of 25 performances each year. Performances are primarily for elementary school children; but the group has also sung for the RISE program at the Stallings Center, for senior adults groups, for civic clubs, for the Tuscaloosa Music Club, and for Shelton graduation.
The Bach to Rock ensemble is under the umbrella of the Arts Council of Tuscaloosa, which has stated that every year Bach to Rock is their most requested educational program. In 2008, Bach to Rock won first place in the national Exemplary Initiatives Competition for Two-Year Colleges in the United States in the category of “Responding to Community Needs”.