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Ouachita’s School of Performing Arts to host River City Men’s Chorus on Sept. 22

September 12, 2024 - Ashleigh Estes

The School of Performing Arts at Ouachita Baptist University will host the River City Men’s Chorus in concert at 3:00 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, in Mabee Fine Arts Center’s McBeth Recital Hall. The performance is made possible by the Floyd E. and Dorothy G. Henley Fine Arts Endowment at Ouachita; admission is free and open to the public.

The program will feature sacred music composed by Craig Courtney and will include musicians from the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. The chorus is led by David Glaze, who earned Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music Education degrees in choral music from Ouachita. He initiated and sponsors Ouachita’s annual David Allen Glaze Music Competition. There are several other Ouachita alumni among the chorus members, including Phil Hardin ’73, Scott Scherz ’78, Arthur Broadbent III ’80, Larry Root '80, Nicholas Brown ’81, Rex Pilcher ’84 and Greg Phillips ’87.

“It’s an incredible honor to have the River City Men's Chorus with David Glaze and members of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra perform at Ouachita,” said Dr. Caroline Taylor, dean of the School of Performing Arts. “Having eight Ouachita alumni among its members reflects the long-standing tradition of excellence enjoyed by our School of Performing Arts. This opportunity to hear the sacred music of composer Craig Courtney will make it one of the most memorable concerts of the year!”

The River City Men’s Chorus was founded by Glaze in 2002 and has performed continuously for more than twenty years. It currently includes 70 members. The chorus reports 159 total concert performances in its history. All members are volunteers who practice an average of 25 hours per performance. Members of the group include teachers, lawyers, doctors and other professionals. The chorus, which is based in Central Arkansas, has toured in Italy, Prague, Berlin and Vienna and performed during a mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.

Ouachita students in attendance may earn Arts Engagement credit.

For more information about the School of Performing Arts at Ouachita, contact Dr. Caroline Taylor at [email protected] or at (870) 245-5139.