UW Collegiate Chorale to Perform ‘Wyoming to Wales’ April 24

Before it represents the Equality State across the Atlantic, the University of Wyoming Collegiate Chorale will perform “Wyoming to Wales,” a special send-off performance highlighting the ensemble’s upcoming performance tour of the United Kingdom, featuring stops in Cardiff, Wales and England.

The concert will take place Friday, April 24, at 7:30 p.m. in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts concert hall.

Tickets are available at www.tix.com/ticket-sales/uwyo/6984/event/1466258, in person or at (307) 766-6666 at the Performing Arts box office, Monday through Friday, noon-6 p.m. and one hour before performances.

Under the direction of Brian Murray, accompanied by pianist Alisson Garcia, the ensemble will perform a program featuring a sweeping timeline of choral excellence, from 17th century polyphony to vibrant, modern gospel to evocative contemporary compositions.

The evening’s program begins with a tribute to the English choral tradition, featuring Gerald Finzi’s ecstatic “My Spirit Sang All Day” and Orlando Gibbons’ masterpiece “O Clap Your Hands.” The chorale will explore sacred traditions through C.V. Stanford’s meditative “Beati quorum via” and the high-energy, gospel-infused rhythms of Brandon Boyd’s “Come and Go to that Land.” Modern spiritual landscapes are further defined by Peter Leech’s “Duc, alma lux” and the rhythmic drive of Karl Jenkins’ “Exsultate, Jubilate.”

The repertoire shifts into ethereal soundscapes with Eric Whitacre’s shimmering “Sleep” and Paul Mealor’s “Ubi caritas,” which gained global fame at the 2011 royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Themes of resilience and connection take center stage in Elaine Hagenberg’s sweeping “Swifter Than Flame,” Achilles Hennessy’s uplifting “I Choose to Sing” and the lush harmonies of Lucy Walker’s “Give Me Your Stars.”

The concert concludes with a series of expressive finales, including Moses Hogan’s “Battle of Jericho,” a concert spiritual known for its high rhythmic intensity and dramatic choral textures, as well as contemporary commissions such as Reginal Wright’s “Imagined Corners” -- a work the chorale helped premiere in 2025. Following the intimate beauty of Susan LaBarr’s “I Hear Thy Voice” and Alice Parker’s “Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal,” the performance ends with an upbeat choral arrangement of the Bill Withers classic, “Lovely Day.”

UW’s Collegiate Chorale is the premier ensemble of the UW Choral Program. Since its founding more than 100 years ago, the UW Collegiate Chorale has had a distinguished history of conductors, including George Gunn, Carlyle Weiss, Nicole Lamartine, Holly Dalrymple and Murray.

UW’s Collegiate Chorale has appeared on numerous state, regional and national convention programs of the American Choral Directors Association, Music Educators National Conference and the Music Teachers National Conference. Touring opportunities have led to performances at the Grand Teton Music Festival in Teton Village; Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver; and Avery Fisher Hall in New York.

On the international stage, UW’s Collegiate Chorale has performed in the finest concert halls and cathedrals of England, Wales, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Mexico and Brazil. The chorale regularly collaborates with the UW Symphony Orchestra as well as regional orchestras in performances of choral/orchestral masterworks.

Recent performances have included G.F. Handel’s “Messiah” (2025), Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana” (2025), W.A. Mozart’s “Requiem” (2024), Elaine Hagenberg’s “Illuminare” (2023) and Johannes Brahms’ “Ein Deutsches Requiem” (2022). The choir also has recently premiered several works through commissions and consortiums including Jeff Lippencott’s “American Patriot Hymn” (2025), Timothy Takach’s “We Are Phoenix” (2025) and Reginal Wright’s “Imagined Corners” (2025). 

For more information, call Murray at (307) 766-5222 or email bmurray7@uwyo.edu.