Come enjoy the 31st anniversary of UT Dallas’ oldest cultural tradition, featuring the UT Dallas Chamber Singers and the Symphonic Brass Quintet under the direction of Kathryn Evans.

This year’s theme is “Feliz Navidad: Christmas in the Spanish World.”  The event will feature guitarist Edward Healy and include a special visit by Santa Claus and a reception with mulled cider and other holiday treats.  The audience will be invited to sing along with traditional carols.  Make it a special holiday for the whole family!

Choral solos will include three Renaissance Villancicos from Canciones Uppsala, 1556: Dadme Albricias Hijos D'Eva; E la Don Don; and Riu, riu chiu, O Magnum Mysterium by Tomas Luis de Victoria, A la Nanita Nana; El Noi de la Mare; and Campana Sobre Campana from "Christmas in the Southwest" by Conrad Susa, three Spanish carols arranged by Robert Shaw and Alice Parker: The Carol of the Birds; La Viene la Vieja; and  Fum, fum, fum and Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano. 

Children’s songs such as Jingle Bells will be sung in addition to traditional songs like Away in a Manger, Deck the Halls, Joy to the World, Silent Night and the Hallelujah Chorus. 

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The UTD Chamber Singers was formed in 1994 as a performing ensemble of 20-24 singers. The repertoire for the ensemble is selected from a broad range of chamber vocal literature, including both sacred and secular music spanning the Renaissance to the contemporary periods of music history and modern jazz arrangements. The ensemble performs regularly on campus, including performances at the Renaissance Faire, the Annual Holiday Sing during the Fall Semester, and in concert as a Jazz Singers Ensemble in the Spring Semester. The UTD Chamber Singers collaborates with many other ensembles on campus, including the Jazz Ensemble, Guitar Ensemble and Dance Ensemble. They also perform on the Winter and Spring Arts Festivals every semester. In the Spring, the Chamber Singers join the UTD Chorale for a choral concert of large works with orchestra.

Past concerts have included “A Tribute to the Manhattan Transfer,” “All Mozart Concert,” “Swing Thing,” “Birds, Beasts and Bugs,” “A Victorian Christmas” and “A Celebration of Monteverdi.”

Students must audition and be accepted in order to enroll in Chamber Singers. Auditions are arranged in the Spring for new students and before every long semester during the registration periods.

Kathryn Evans joined the faculty of the University of Texas at Dallas in 1994. Currently, she serves as the Associate Dean for the Arts in the School of Arts and Humanities, teaches vocal and choral music, and directs the UTD Chamber Singers. She is an accomplished recitalist and chamber musician, performing in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area and in Europe. Before coming to UTD, she was the Director of the Bach Society Chamber Orchestra and Chorus in La Jolla, California and the Musical Director of the Orpheus Ensemble. She founded and directed the Washington Pro Musica and the Early Music Ensemble of San Diego. She has directed European concert tours of Switzerland, Germany, France and Italy. Ms. Evans holds Master of Arts degrees in Music and in Mathematics from the University of California at San Diego. Ms. Evans has completed tours of music for voice and guitar with fellow faculty member Dr. Enric Madriguera in Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Mexico. Ms. Evans released the CD “Voz y Guitarra” with Dr. Madriguera in October of 2003 and is the Executive Director of the Annual Texas Guitar Competition. She recently appeared as the Mother Abbess in the “Sound of Music” and directed the UTD Chamber Singers in “La Boheme/Rent” at UTD in the fall of 2005.