The choral ensembles on campus are seeing a change in direction this semester, with Director of Choirs Dr. Mark Simmons taking a sabbatical through the university and Dr. Samuel Barbara stepping in as a temporary replacement.
During the sabbatical, Simmons is away for the semester to compose new works for the choir that will be premiered next fall. While he is gone, Barbara hopes to carry on the work of both the University Singers and the New Pacer Singers.
“I am looking forward to getting to know the groups. I’ve got a program of music from the British Isles planned. I generally don’t do themed concerts, but … I had to force myself to try something new,” Barbara said.
In developing the program for the semester, Barbara found several good reasons to use music from the British Isles.
“It’s such great music, and I know that Dr. Scott Roberts on faculty is an organ player so I thought, ‘What can I do that will incorporate organ?’ So, I’m going to use him for several of our pieces. I’m sort of basing it around Ralph Vaughan Williams’ ‘Five Mystical Songs’ and these are just some great uplifting pieces and I just went from there,” Barbara said.
Barbara got the opportunity to step in this semester as temporary Director of Choirs when Simmons contacted Barbara’s adviser at graduate school last semester.
“Dr. Simmons is very proactive; I think that was the main reason [I got this position]. I recently graduated from USC, I finished up my coursework there and he contacted my adviser last semester. … We had a nice phone conversation almost 6-8 months ago, and I just liked the [program]. The program sounded very vital and he talked very highly of the faculty and the students. So, it just sounded like a great place to be,” Barbara said.
For Barbara, choir has been a lifelong experience. He began choir as a child, and continued in it until college, where he studied music with a focus in choral at University of Portland, doing his senior project recital in conducting. He then received a full-ride scholarship that allowed him to go abroad for a year to Weimar, Germany, and when he returned, he attained his masters at University of Portland. After getting his masters, he taught high school choir for four years in Portland, Ore., and then moved to Los Angeles to get his doctorate at University of Southern California. There, he worked on chorus work in the spring and finished his dissertation this past fall.
“That’s why this position worked so well for me because I wanted to really focus and finish the dissertation first before I got into a job. So, the timing worked perfectly. This is my first job, so to speak, out of college,” Barbara said.
So far, Barbara has only been in town for a week, and as his first time in the South, he has enjoyed the experience and looks forward to the semester.
“I have to say most of my interactions [here] have been so much more warm, so much more friendly, than I experienced on the West Coast, specifically in Southern California. … Everybody here has been very helpful. They’re more willing to carry on a conversation just out in public than anywhere I’ve experienced on the West Coast. … I’ve met just about all the faculty and they are very warm and very welcoming. I mean, I have not had any negative experiences so far,” Barbara said.
Overall, Barbara is happy to have the experience of being at UTM, even if it’s only for a semester.
“The bottom line is experience. It’s been four years now since I’ve had my own ensembles to work with [and after taking a break] you get a little rusty, but it’s important to just get out there and do it [again], directing groups. I really value going back to school, but I am excited to get back into the classroom and be directing choirs. Experience is what leads to the next thing. I’m just taking anything I can get at this point, and I’m excited about it,” Barbara said.
Barbara hopes to use his knowledge to take the UTM choirs to the next level.
“I have a pretty strong drive for excellence with everything that I do, and I hope to just do the best we can. … [It’s] just building, continuing the momentum that I know Dr. Simmons has already built and cares a lot about. … I just want that forward momentum going,” Barbara said.
