Salt Lake Vocal Artists Eng

SALT LAKE VOCAL ARTISTS

In its short history, the Salt Lake Vocal Artists has already become a well-respected and highly celebrated choral ensemble. They have entertained and fascinated local and international audiences with their versatility, passion, artistry and sound. Organized under the direction of Dr. Brady Allred in 2010, the Salt Lake Vocal Artists are the international ambassadors and touring choir for the Salt Lake Choral Artists organization now supporting seven choirs of singers from ages 8-80. In its premiere season, the SL Vocal Artists were invited to participate in the 42nd Tolosa International Choral Competition in Spain. After a successful concert tour of the Basque region of Spain, the SLVA competed against renowned choirs from all over the world and won First Prize in all four categories. In addition, they were honored with the special Audience Prize. In 2011, the Salt Lake Vocal Artists were invited as one of only 25 choirs and the only American choir to perform at the World Choral Symposium in Argentina following a two-week concert tour of the country. They were also invited to Italy that same year to perform at the Concordia Vocis Music Festival in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy and to compete in the Concorso Polifonico Internazionale in Arezzo, Italy where they were awarded five First Prizes.

The Salt Lake Vocal Artists are committed to bringing to life new and diverse choral works and have commissioned and premiered new works by celebrated international composers including: Josu Elberdin, Ola Gjeilo, Dan Forrest, Ko Matsushita, Ivo Antognini, Eriks Esenvalds, György Orbán, John Høybye, Nancy Wertsch, Bernat Vivancos, Sergey Khvoshchinsky, Jake Runestad, Larry Nickel, David Bennett Thomas, Ambroz Copi, Pär Olofsson, and Stephen M. Lounsbrough. Recent recordings feature the Christmas music of composer and pianist, Dan Forrest in “Never a Brighter Star,” a recording project with composer Andrew Maxfield based on the poetry of Wendell Berry, a collection of arrangements an compositions by Utah composer Kay Hicks Ward, their popular “Live in Spain” and “Circle of Life” CDs, and the most recent “The Singing Heart.” Due to their well-established presence on YouTube and iTunes, they have also captivated online audiences world-wide with their high standard of performance videos and recordings.

The choir performs regularly in concert with the ensembles of Salt Lake Choral Artists, as well as in their own concerts. Recently they have honored the work of Morten Lauridsen in a weekend festival of his music, revived Handel’s “Israel in Egypt” for the Salt Lake City audiences, traveled to Bulgaria and Turkey in 2013 for their fourth international tour, and later that same year had a concert tour of Hawaii and Japan as the featured international choir at Karuizawa International Choral Festival organized by Ko Matsushita. In 2015 the Salt Lake Vocal Artists had their debut at the National ACDA Convention in a special concert at the Assembly Hall and as the choir for the conducting masterclasses with Helmuth Rilling, Simon Halsey, and John Nelson. In June 2015 they traveled to Aachen, Germany as the featured international choir for the Chor Biennale and to The Netherlands for additional concerts with the choirs of Dion Ritten. They are pleased to be featured at the first World Choral Expo in Macua, China.

Brady Allred, conductor

Artistic Director and Conductor of the Salt Lake Choral Artists in Salt Lake City, Utah, Dr. Brady R. Allred has developed “an international reputation for excellence.” Under his direction the Salt Lake Choral Artists, a non-profit arts organization of seven choirs and over 300 singers, has achieved critical acclaim for their innovative concerts, Summer Choral Institute program, international tours, iTunes and YouTube channels. Dr. Allred was honored by The Salt Lake Tribune and named as one of Utah’s Top 25 Cultural Power Brokers.

Known around the world for “exquisite choral singing,” Dr. Allred’s ensembles have been invited to participate in major festivals and competitions around the world. They won the Grand Prize at the Florilège Vocal de Tours (France), the European Grand Prix, and First Prizes at the Marktoberdorf International Chamber Choir Competition, the Tolosa (Spain) International Choir Competition, and the Concorso Polifonico Internazionale in Arezzo, Italy.

He was also awarded the Conductor’s Prize in Marktoberdorf, Germany. The Salt Lake Vocal Artists represented the USA at the World Choral Symposium in Argentina and have recently toured to Bulgaria, Turkey, and Japan. They were also featured performers at the American Choral Directors Association 2015 National Conference and the 2015 Festival Chor Biennale in Aachen, Germany. They will represent the USA at the first World Choral Expo in Macua, China in November 2015.

Prior to his full-time appointment as Artistic Director of SLCA, Dr. Allred was Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at the University of Utah. He was also the Music Director and Conductor for the Butler Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania, Director of Choral Activities at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, and Artistic Director and Conductor of the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh. He has been a guest conductor for the Schumann Chamber Orchestra in Italy, the Wroclaw Philharmonic in Poland, the Symphonic Orchestra of the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Salt Lake Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Vox Gaudiosa of Tokyo, the New Israeli Vocal Ensemble, Oslo Voices in Norway, the Taipei Youth Choir in Taiwan, and the National Youth Choirs of Sweden, Norway and Estonia at the Europa Cantat Festival in Hungary. He has performed with the Robert Shaw Festival Singers and the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus under Helmuth Rilling.

He has served on international juries for competitions in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Slovenia, Spain, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, China, Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand and has conducted over one hundred regional and All-State Choirs. Dr. Allred earned his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting degrees from the Eastman School of Music, and his undergraduate degree in Theory/Composition and Flute Performance from Brigham Young University. He and his wife, soprano Carol Ann Allred, have traveled and performed extensively as Artistic Ambassadors for the United States Information Agency.