{"id":34805,"date":"2014-04-03T08:28:55","date_gmt":"2014-04-03T13:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/?p=34805"},"modified":"2014-09-23T08:26:44","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T13:26:44","slug":"soothing-an-achy-breaky-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/soothing-an-achy-breaky-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Soothing An Achy, Breaky Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cantus<\/a><\/p>\n

There is one universal reaction when I tell folks that I live in Oxford. \u201cYou are so lucky,\u201d they exclaim. I am. And I\u2019m always curious to find out what it is about Oxford and the university that they miss so deeply and so personally, in a way that I don\u2019t hear expressed about other cities or towns.<\/p>\n

So, when I learned that an Ole Miss grad is part of Cantus\u2014a premier men\u2019s ensemble that will perform\u00a0Saturday at the\u00a0Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts\u2014I was curious. What, if anything, did he miss about Oxford? (He does. A lot.)<\/p>\n

David Walton (UM\u201911), who received his Master’s Degree of Music in Vocal Performance from Ole Miss, will be returning to Oxford for his first professional appearance since graduating. Though he\u2019s been back for one performance in Oxford, the celebrated tenor says this time, it\u2019s really different.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I sang at a friend\u2019s wedding two years ago in Paris-Yates Chapel with some Ole Miss faculty also performing, it felt like I never left,\u201d Walton said. \u201cIt will be strange to have colleagues and teachers who mentored me buying tickets to hear me in a professional group and I hope they see a good result of their hard work.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nine-member Cantus is an artist-led ensemble. Each piece performed is assigned to one of the singers to produce. The producer is responsible for initial interpretation, leading the allotted rehearsal time and quality control on the fundamentals (notes, rhythms, tuning, vowel choice, etc.).<\/p>\n

While at Ole Miss, Walton earned numerous awards and honors, including being elected as the 0pera theater assistant for the UM opera theater department. Even in a group, Walton stands out. He won last year\u2019s \u201cCantus Idol,\u201d a fundraiser to support the group\u2019s educational and artistic programs, by performing Billy Ray Cyrus’ 1992 country music smash hit \u201cAchy Breaky Heart.\u201d The event fetched nearly $75,000, so it must have been worth it. He admits that as a child, he belted out the tune over the intercom system at a local shoe store for a \u201cbuy one get one free\u201d challenge.<\/p>\n

Even with that impressive early success, Walton, who is now in his third year with Cantus, credits Oxford with giving him his start.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned how to perform here first,\u201d he said. \u201cI realized I could succeed in music professionally thanks to my teachers, fellow students and colleagues. This is where my wife and I both received graduate degrees and our relationship grew from our life in Oxford together.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope [the audience] finds the male choral music to be enriching and our program about the musical and cultural diversity of the United States to be enlightening,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Showtime for Cantus is Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the box office or online at www.FordCenter.org<\/a>. Special pricing is available for students, faculty, staff and retirees. Just flash your valid ID and you\u2019ll be set.<\/p>\n

\"David<\/a>

David Walton<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is one universal reaction when I tell folks that I live in Oxford. \u201cYou are so lucky,\u201d they exclaim. I am. And I\u2019m always curious to find out what it is about Oxford and the university that they miss so deeply and so personally, in a way that I don\u2019t hear expressed about otherRead the story …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[899],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nSoothing An Achy, Breaky Heart - Ole Miss News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/soothing-an-achy-breaky-heart\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Soothing An Achy, Breaky Heart - Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There is one universal reaction when I tell folks that I live in Oxford. \u201cYou are so lucky,\u201d they exclaim. I am. 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