Years of practice and dedication can go into the songs you love every day.
Inside the Moody Music Building housing The University of Alabama School of Music, the next generation of leaders and pioneers in the music industry prepare for their time to take the stage.
“Music will never go away. It will always have some kind of impact on people,” said senior vocal performance major Teandra Jackson. “That is why I feel we should continue to endorse the arts, so we continue to have the musicians who make the art that moves people so much.”
Spring 2024 Highlights
Faculty Recital Series
Jan. 22, Feb. 12 and March 18
The Faculty Recital Series will display several different styles of music. Each section will focus on a different area of the School of Music faculty. For example, one of the recitals will showcase voice-specific faculty. They’ll take audiences on a journey through time, singing songs through the ages.
Spring Spectrum Showcase
Feb. 2
The Spring Spectrum Showcase shows off every genre of music. At the end of the show, members of the Million Dollar Band — including baton-twirling Crimsonettes — fill the aisles to truly surround the audience with music.
“The Elixir of Love”
Feb. 28-March 3
Jackson is most excited for this opera performance. “It is about a guy who falls in love — a classic love story — and wants a potion to make the girl fall in love with him, but the sly doctor gives him a fake potion,” Jackson said. “I don’t want to give too much away but I believe it will be a really good performance.”
“One Night Only!”
April 2
Jackson also said she’s looking forward to “One Night Only! Annual Evening of Broadway, Jazz and Pop Favorites,” where students choose their musical selection from any genre. From pop to jazz, the audience experiences all kinds of music in one show.
“It’s very nontraditional, like last semester they had a jazz band accompany the artists. It’s a lot livelier and more upbeat. Some of the performers even went out into the audience and were interactive,” she said.
Combined Huxford Symphony Orchestra and University Choirs Concert
April 18
The School of Music’s concert season will close with a dramatic performance from the talented combined Huxford Symphony Orchestra and University Choirs for a one-night-only affair.
More to Discover
See the complete list of School of Music concerts and events for spring 2024.
Audience Tips
- Doors open 15-30 minutes before concerts start to let everyone find seating.
- Audience etiquette applies: no filming, no talking, no food and drink.
- If you can’t make a performance in person, livestreams are often available.
The Student Experience
Hailing from Killeen, Texas, Jackson is a testament to the discipline music majors hone both in and out of the classroom.
“It is very encouraged to have some sort of musical background because it helps with communication, critical thinking and time management,” she said, nodding.
To build her portfolio and experience, she is one of many students providing lessons through the Community Music School. She promises that you’re never too young or too old to learn a new skill as she teaches lessons to students ages 9 through 42.
Jackson is also a member of the University choirs, which have doubled in size since last year thanks to student-led initiatives like Bring a Friend” to Choir Day.
The School of Music is unique in its family-like atmosphere. Before each performance, students take part in “senior talkbacks,” where the choir director calls up a senior in front of the group to talk about their experience or a specific piece that has inspired them. Jackson said this serves to “get us in a good headspace before the concert.”
UA is also unique in that many students write their own music and sometimes have it performed at the school.
For Jackson, she knew she found her future home at the School of Music after her initial audition.
“I went into my audition super nervous. I felt like I completely bombed it! Then my current voice Dr. Davis-Hazell, personally called me and said she wanted me in her voice studio,” Jackson recalled. “That was such a heartwarming experience that I canceled all my other auditions at all the other universities I applied to because I knew at that moment this was going to be the school for me.”