A holiday special, “Christmas with Andrea Bocelli and Friends, a Grammy Holiday Special,” will feature Cal State Fullerton choirs when it airs nationally on CBS and Paramount+ at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 24. The special will feature Dua Lipa, Jennifer Hudson, Josh Groban and other artists.
The special will highlight an Andrea Bocelli performance that took place Dec. 8 at the Kia Forum during Bocelli’s 30th Anniversary concert in front of a sold-out audience. Sixty students who are part of CSUF’s choral and vocal ensembles University Singers and CSUF Concert Choir performed in the concert.
Robert Istad, professor of music and director of choral studies, and Christopher Peterson, professor of music who conducts the CSUF Concert Choir, prepared students for the combined rehearsals and coached them for the performance in the arena and on camera.
“Our choral ensembles are among the most visible groups on campus, and they perform numerous times each year to great acclaim and artistic success,” Istad said. “We in the School of Music and College of the Arts are immensely proud of our student musicians and all they accomplish each year.”
The University Singers and 30 singers from the CSUF Concert Choir were selected to join the performance with Andrea Bocelli. The University Singers is CSUF’s highest-level mixed choral ensemble, Istad said. Students audition for positions in the chorus every August. Students also audition for the CSUF Concert Choir.
“I have been preparing our students to sing for Andrea Bocelli for many years – over 17 years,” Istad said.
In November, the University Singers sang four performances of “Star Wars in Concert” at Walt Disney Concert Hall with the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Sarah Hicks. And, in August, the University Singers sang in “Marvel Studios’ Infinity Saga Concert Experience” at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.