UT Singers

In April 1952 the Alumni Association sponsored the first statewide concert tour of a choral group formed by John Carl Tegnell, an associate professor of fine arts. The 30-voice chorus toured the state in buses. Prior to the tour, the association offered its members a record made by the group. Ambrose Holford, who joined the UT Music Department in 1952 as director of chorus, oversaw the development of the group from a formal, robed chorus into one of the best-known show groups in the nation. In 1957 the group made their first tour outside the United States—to Mexico.

The UT Singers became UT’s musical ambassadors at home and abroad, and in 1963 Governor Frank Clement signed a proclamation of the 83rd General Assembly designating the UT Singers as Tennessee’s Musical Ambassadors. The singers usually made a summer European tour, but in summer 1967 they elected instead to be the repertory company of the university’s Hunter Hills Theatre in Gatlinburg. In 1974 Tennessee Ernie Ford and country star Lynn Anderson joined the group for a concert. On their 1978 European tour, the singers were scheduled to perform three concerts in Russia, but their equipment was confiscated at the Moscow airport and not returned until they departed.

Citation Information

The following information is provided for citations.

  • Title UT Singers
  • Author
  • Keywords UT Singers
  • Website Name Volopedia
  • Publisher University of Tennessee Libraries
  • URL
  • Access Date July 17, 2025
  • Original Published Date
  • Date of Last Update October 16, 2018