The Stillman College Choir will visit the Rotary Club of Tuscaloosa this week, bringing their talents and their famous performances of the songs of the Christmas season. The Choir boasts a touring group of some thirty singers. Its repertoire ranges across a wide variety of periods and styles, from the traditional European choral music of the last four centuries to traditional spirituals and contemporary gospel music.

Among the Choir’s most notable recent performances have been Haydn’s “Third Mass” (Lord Nelson) with the Johnson Symphony Orchestra; a performance of Mozart’s “Requiem” with the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra (featured on National Public Radio) and performances at Tuscaloosa’s Annual Realizing the Dream Concert in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Most recently, the choir performed “God Bless America” and other faith-inspired songs at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater during the community ceremony to remember September 11, 2001, and “God Bless America” at the inauguration of Alabama’s 53rd Governor, Dr. Robert Bentley.

Phillip Todd Westgate, director of choral activities and a member of the Stillman faculty since 1992, directs the choir. Dr. Westgate, an associate professor of Music, is a native of Manhattan, Kansas. Ms. Layrne Williford serves as the accompanist for the Choir.