Cardinal Singers compete on international level

Juries were astonished.

The beauty of the massed voices. The precision of the rhythm. The fullness of the sound.

UofL's Cardinal Singers bowled them over four years ago, winning a major top competitive prize in Germany. And the honors and acclaim have poured in since.

They and another top UofL choral group, the Collegiate Chorale, are in demand: regionally, nationally and locally.

The Cardinal Singers are ranked as one of the top choirs in the world. Musica Mundi, an organization that sponsors Choir Olympic competitions internationally, ranked the Cardinal Singers No. 1 in the mixed choir category and No. 2 in the overall Musica Mundi World Ranking List of 1,800 worldwide groups in all categories.

Among their most recent invitations: a place on the stage at the First Grand Prix of Choral Music in South Korea in July 2009. It will be the first event of its kind: bestowing a grand prize to the world’s best choral group.

How did they get there? Hard work, pre-planning and the leadership of choral activities director Kent Hatteberg, for sure. Also because of the generosity of Louisville music lover Margaret Comstock.

In 1999, Comstock gave $1 million to UofL's School of Music.

The money benefited the choral groups, enabling them to earn worldwide competition rankings.

She had seen and met Hatteberg while performing in a church choir and was impressed by his work.

Now her support has meant that UofL's choruses can travel the world to show their stuff on the international stage. It has meant students living up to their talent potential. It has astonished listeners worldwide.

Comstock's generosity has paid for national and international travel expenses, CD recordings and international concert competitions and conferences.

"What a tremendous educational value her gift provides to so many of our students," Hatteberg says. "Without Margaret's support and interest, it would be very difficult for our choral groups to compete at the level we do."

That high-level performance is bringing the kind of euphoric response from listeners that Comstock envisioned.

"Every child should have access to an education in music," Comstock says, because "music can bring so much joy."

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