Fayette Presbyterian Church will host a choral concert performed by The Spivey Hall Children’s Tour Choir under the direction of Dr. Martha Shaw March 25 at 7 p.m.

Selections will include “Cantate Domino” by Nancy Hill Cobb, “Music Down in My Soul” arranged by Moses Hogan, “Stars and Winds” by Larysa Kuzmenko, “The Angels Will Guide You Home” by Eleanor Daley, “America the Beautiful” arranged by Randall Reese, and many others. The concert is in the church sanctuary and a nursery will be provided during the performance. Attendees are also invited to join the choir and directors at a coffeehouse following the concert in the church fellowship hall.

The Spivey Hall Children’s Tour Choir is a group of 50 voices chosen from the 100 voice Spivey Hall Children’s Choir, 24 of whom call Fayette County home. This select ensemble includes the most advanced singers from the Children’s Choir who demonstrate outstanding singing ability, positive attitude, exemplary attendance, and a commitment to an augmented rehearsal and performance schedule.

Dr. Shaw is the founding director of the Spivey Hall Children’s Choir Program and Director of Choral Activities at Shorter College in Rome, Georgia. Dr. Shaw served on the faculty of the University of South Carolina, where she earned her doctorate in conducting, and was a music specialist for Fulton County for 15 years. Her undergraduate degree is in Music Education from Shorter College. She earned her master’s degree from University of Tennessee.

Judy Mason, assistant director and accompanist for The Spivey Hall Children’s Tour Choir, holds an undergraduate degree in music education from Shorter College and a master’s degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She has completed additional post- graduate work at the University of Oregon and at Austin Peay State University. Mason appeared as a singer for many years with Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and with the Memphis Vocal Arts Ensemble. Mason taught choral music and theory in the Atlanta and Fulton County public schools for ten years, and is a member of the American Choral Directors Association.

The Spivey Hall Children’s Tour Choir’s first CD, Christmas with the Spivey Hall Children’s Choir, was named “the find of the season” by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 1999. In December of 2000 they were one of the guest performers on NPR’s From the Top, and their newest CD, Homeland, was released in the fall of 2002. The Choir will be making their third professional recording in early June 2006, a collection of favorites through the years, prior to departing on their summer tour of Washington, D.C.

Tickets for The Spivey Hall Children’s Tour Choir concert are $5 for students, $10 for adults (in advance), $12 for adults (at the door). Tickets may be purchased by calling the church office at 770-461-7147, e-mailing ticket requests to church@fayettepcusa.org, or ordering online at the church website (choose “Music Ministry” from the home page) at www.fayettepcusa.org. For directions, please call the church office or check our website.

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