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Auditioners Face The Music

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By JOYCE MCKENZIE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 29, 2008

TEMPLE TERRACE - Skills, spirit, experience, intelligence and the ability to work as a team are conductor Richard Zielinski's prerequisites for members of the University of South Florida Chamber Singers.

They are the same criteria that landed Zielinski a football scholarship with the intention of becoming a history teacher. But, thanks to a college choral director who marveled at his singing voice and encouraged him to pursue music as a career, the New Tampa resident has spent the past eight years as USF's director of choral activities, a position that includes leading what he views as the university's premier choral ensemble.

"They are an extraordinary group of young people," said Zielinski, following one of the recent auditions in which 150 students tried out and 60 were accepted and began rehearsing for Sept. 7's performance at St. Catherine of Alexandria Episcopal Church.

Zielinski describes the four-day auditioning process as "draining."

"Each singer is handed music, and they have to learn it in 24 hours," he said. "And, I've been sitting in my office until about 10 every night weeding through the [audition] tapes."

USF sophomore music major Kate McDuffie, who participated with the group last year and tried out again this year, remembered how well-prepared she and her peers were expected to be.

"We got off to a real quick start, so we learned how to learn music at a very fast pace," said the 19-year-old Tampa resident. "It's really taught me a lot, and the Chamber Singers is filled with really talented singers, and 'Dr. Z' is a fabulous conductor and mentor."

Andrew Hoy, 21, a music composition major from Melbourne, agreed.

"Dr. Z has a lot of passion, and he gets us to take our music to a new level," said Hoy, a USF Chamber Singers third-year member and musical composer in his own right.

It was freshman Jesse Martin's first time to audition with what the Venice resident has learned through others is an admired choral ensemble.

"One of my chorus teachers in Venice told me about it, and when I tried out for the university chorus, Dr. Z asked me to come out for these auditions," said Martin, who aspires to be an opera singer. "Dr. Z seems pretty cool."

Zielinski's name and reputation also are familiar to classical music buffs throughout the county, the nation, Europe and Asia. He is founder and director of the 40-voice Richard Zielinski Singers and is the music and artistic director of the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay.

He also serves as artistic director and principal conductor of the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria, and conductor of In Terra Pax, an international choral academy in Poland. He has recorded numerous classical CDs and worked with several leading composers and conductors.

The Rev. Edward Rich of St. Catherine's is thrilled to host Zielinski and the USF Chamber Singers for the fourth consecutive year.

"Dr. Zielinski does a great job with these young folks, and we generally have a full house when they come," he said. "For them, it's almost like a preseason football game because it gives them a chance to perform in a somewhat-smaller, different venue than most of their performances."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: University of South Florida Chamber Singers

WHERE: St. Catherine of Alexandria Episcopal Church, 502 Druid Hills Road

WHEN: 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7

HOW MUCH: Free (donations accepted)

INFORMATION: Call (813) 988-6483.

Reporter Joyce McKenzie can be reached at (813) 865-4849 or jmckenzie@tampatrib.com.

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