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Chicago Master Singers announces its new season of music offerings

While live performances are on hold, Chicago Master Singers is offering musical experiences of a different kind this fall with the creation of CMS University.

Weekly seminars, led by the organization's music director John Hughes, will be livestreamed on YouTube starting at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24.

Registrants may participate in the live events or watch the recordings later on YouTube. There is no charge to attend, but advance registration is required at tiny.cc/CMSU.

The first two seminars will focus on Mozart's "Requiem," one of the works Chicago Master Singers was to have performed this fall at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie as the kick off to its new season.

"The Scandal and Intrigue Surrounding Mozart's Requiem" Aug. 24 will delve into the mysteries of Mozart's death, who completed the work, and the fate of this masterpiece from its inception to the present day. On Aug. 31, Hughes will discuss "The Requiem Genre Before and After Mozart."

A variety of other topics will be covered throughout the fall, including choral intonation, vocal health, Gregorian chant, little-known choral gems, and interviews with leading contemporary choral composers Elaine Hagenberg on Oct. 5 and Philip Stopford on Nov. 30.

The complete seminar schedule is on the registration website. Note, due to the Labor Day holiday, the program will be on a Tuesday.

Hughes became Chicago Master Singers' third music director in its 41-year history this year. He came to Chicago Master Singers from Ripon College in Wisconsin, where he was assistant professor of music, director of choral activities and chairman of the department of music.

He is also conductor of the composer residency program at the Green Lake Festival of Music in Green Lake, Wisconsin. He earned a doctorate in choral conducting and pedagogy from the University of Iowa.

Chicago Master Singers (www.chicagomastersingers.org) is an auditioned chorus of about 100 singers from Chicago and many suburban communities. The chorus has performed choral masterworks in collaboration with professional soloists and orchestras in the Chicago area since 1979 and on tour in Europe.

Follow www.facebook.com/ChicagoMasterSingers/.

Chicago Master Singers will host CMS University, a series of weekly seminars livestreamed on Mondays starting Aug. 24. Courtesy of Chicago Master Singers
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