Department of Music
Department of Music

Chamber Singers

UVA Chamber Singers

Founded in 2005 and conducted by Michael Slon, the University of Virginia Chamber Singers is a select ensemble drawn from the University Singers, and committed to broad programming perspectives, performs a wide variety of repertoire ranging from early music to contemporary compositions.  In addition to their performance for the Governor and other distinguished guests at UVA’s 2017 Bicentennial Cornerstone Celebration, and a 2024 Campaign Songs collaboration with the UVA Center for Politics where students sang with Martin Luther King III, recent performances have included: Britten’s Hymn to St. Cecilia, Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas (with Three Notch’d Road Baroque ensemble), Byrd’s Mass for 5 voices, Copland’s In the Beginning, programs of Latin American choral music, choral music from film and Broadway, and new music by Meredith Monk (performed with the Meredith Monk Vocal Ensemble.)  In addition, the group has performed popular standards by Harold Arlen, Ben Folds, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, and the Beatles, a spoof concert of P.D.Q. Bach, and new music by Michael Gordon (during Bang on a Can’s UVA residency), Jake Runestad, Cecilia McDowall, and other leading composers.

In 2010, the Chamber Singers made their first appearances at the Staunton Music Festival, including a performance with Grammy-award winning baritone Kevin McMillan, and have collaborated on multiple occasions with Three Notch’d Road, Charlottesville’s professional Baroque ensemble.  In 2012, they participated in a workshop with Peter Phillips and members of the world-famous Tallis Scholars.  In 2014, they were honored to perform for composer Philip Glass during his UVA Arts Board Residency, and in spring 2015 were heard on tour in Europe with the University Singers, including for Evensong with the Jesus College Choir at Cambridge University.  More recently, collaborations include concerts with the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival, Victory Hall Opera (in pioneering presentations of Poulenc and Gluck operas with deaf actors), and a 2022 presentation of Defiant Requiem (honoring the prisoners at Terezin who performed the Verdi Requiem) at the Strathmore Music Center with five other universities.  They’ve also been heard in major works, at VMEA, and on tour in the U.S. and Europe with the University Singers. 

Auditions: Auditions for the University Singers & Chamber Singers take place at the beginning of each semester. For more info visit here and fill out the interest form.