Decades later, Hilaritas still 1 of Tuscaloosa’s traditions
Crimson White – Nov. 28
The University of Alabama’s School of Music is kicking off the holiday season this weekend with Hilaritas, an annual holiday concert put on by the University Singers under the direction of John Ratledge and the Alabama Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Christopher Kozak. Hilaritas is a Greek word that translates loosely to “live joyfully and be who you are.” It has been a Tuscaloosa holiday staple ever since its first performance in 1969. Now, 43 years later, Hilaritas is a sentimental and cherished holiday tradition for its long-time loyal audiences. “They’re always enthusiastic,” said Ratledge, director of Singers as well as choral activities at the University. “Some people have been coming to Hilaritas for 30 plus years. It’s a big part of their holiday traditions.” The music of Hilaritas is a mix of classical and contemporary with lots of popular holiday songs. Singers and the Jazz Ensemble present pieces individually as well as together. Ratledge and Kozak, the director of jazz studies at the University, split conducting duties throughout the concert. In order to keep the program fresh, pieces are rotated in and out every year. For singers, that means this year will feature two new arrangements of “Jingle Bells” and “White Christmas.” The opening and finale medleys were arranged by an Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame inductee Steve Sample during his time at the University.
Achievements of greek students, chapters awarded
Crimson White – Nov. 28
The University of Alabama Office of Greek Affairs recognized greek chapters and their members for achievements in academics, service, leadership and involvement at the 2012 Greek Excellence Awards Banquet on Nov. 27…Tim Hebson, the dean of students, presented Stewart Holder, a senior majoring in marketing, with the Dr. Timothy S. Hebson IFC Man of the Year award. Gillan said this award is presented to the Interfraternity Council member who most exemplifies the spirit of the greek community at the University…Holder also won the Outstanding IFC President award for his leadership of Beta Theta Pi fraternity… Caitlin Keats, a sophomore majoring in public relations and marketing, won the Frances Pickens Lewis Endowed Scholarship as part of the chapter-endowed scholarship portion of the night…Alpha Chi Omega sorority was presented with both the Most Outstanding Panhellenic Chapter Award and the 2012 Dr. Robert E. Witt cup. Gillan said the cup is an annual award given to a chapter that exemplifies the ideals and values of The University of Alabama’s greek community. Sigma Phi Epsilon, a fraternity that returned to campus in 2010, took home five awards at the end of the night, including the Outstanding Scholarship Award, Outstanding Community Relations, Outstanding Educational Programming, Outstanding Risk Management and the 2012 Most Outstanding IFC Chapter Award.
SPJ to host C-SPAN 2012 campaign bus
Crimson White – Nov. 28
The Society of Professional Journalists and the UA department of journalism are hosting the C-SPAN Campaign 2012 bus on Wed. Nov. 28 at the Trinity United Methodist Church parking lot from 12:30 to 2 pm. The C-SPAN bus is a broadcasting vehicle that travels around the country during election seasons from the primaries to the inauguration producing stories relevant to the area that it travels through. “It’s really important to recognize what it takes to broadcast a political candidate’s speeches around the nation and around the world and this bus is one of many that allow you to take a speech from one place and beam it all across a large area,” George Daniels, SPJ faculty advisor and associate journalism professor, said. “And in the process [the bus] gives people access to those who are seeking to represent the government, and as a citizen you should recognize the power that medium could have.” “I think this is a wonderful opportunity for students to see the C-SPAN bus firsthand and to learn about the work that goes into such extensive political coverage,” Amanda Sams, president of SPJ, said. “It is also a great chance for students to network and meet professional journalists to learn more about the business and decide if a network like C-SPAN is the right place for them to seek a job.”
SEC Championship tickets begin arriving in mail
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Nov.28
Christmas comes early for some SEC football fans. Tickets for Saturday’s SEC Championship game between Alabama and Georgia started arriving in the mail today. Most of those tickets come from the University of Alabama. The university got a 16,000 ticket allotment. Of those, almost 8,800 are going to members of Tide Pride. Students get 1,920 of the 16,000 tickets. Ticket brokers tell us there are still plenty of tickets for fans interested in going to the game.
New choir focuses on small group, early music
Crimson White – Nov. 28
Graduate student John Martin has a deep love for any music composed before 1750. He has adored the genre, known as early music, thoughout his graduate degree and is now taking it to another level by creating an on-campus group dedicated to the genre called the Early Music Choir. Martin said while there are a lot of very good choirs in the area, they tend to be larger in size. They focus on bigger voices and more contemporary music. “When people think of a choir concert, they usually picture a group of 40 people or more, sometimes even in the hundreds, singing with a large orchestra, performing music written within the last 200 years,” Martin said. Martin said he believes these sorts of choirs have great value, but he thinks that there is more potential with smaller numbers, which is why when Martin was drafting the idea for the Early Music Choir, he was interested in the closeness a smaller choir could offer. “There’s a certain intimacy and shared experience that a small group of singers without a conductor has,” he said. “Without the baton up there, each singer has to be more focused, more tuned into the music and the other singers.”
Preservation Society to hold annual open house
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 28
The Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society will hold its annual Holiday Open House of historic homes from 2-5 p.m. Sunday. “This year we are very excited that we have expanded to five locations in total, and we are including two historic houses that have never been included in this particular event before,” said Katherine Richter Mauter, executive director of the Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society. Those two first-timers are the Gorgas House on the University of Alabama campus, and the McGuire-Strickland House, one of the buildings of the Capitol School.