TUSKEGEE, Ala. (March 31, 2008) - Twelve members of the Tuskegee University Golden Voices Choir, along with a former member and Tuskegee alumna, will be participating in vocal study in Pisa, Italy, this year. The students are part of the Italian Opera Study Abroad Program, which caters to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The program chooses only 25 students from across the nation to participate each year.

On Sunday, April 6, the Tuskegee students chosen for the program will present a vocal concert at Washington Chapel A.M.E. Church. As a special guest, international soprano and Tuskegee alumna Lynn Langham Mackie will also perform. The concert begins at 4:30 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. Donations will be accepted to aid in the Tuskegee students' travel and boarding in Italy.

According to Dr. Wayne Barr, choir director, this is the first time students from Tuskegee have been chosen to participate in the prestigious program.

"This is a great opportunity for these students and the choral program here at Tuskegee," Barr said. "These students will get intense vocal study from highly esteemed voice coaches. This can do nothing but improve the program here."

The Tuskegee students, along with Barr, will leave for Italy on May 22. The program is for three weeks. The students participating are: Cherilyn Abrams, Meroë Adeeb, Shelbra Bell, Decia Crawford, Ashley Curry, Ernest Harrison, Alycia Levels, Ashley Pellerin, Randall Perkins, Glenn Derric Person, Courtney Rollins, Shantay Wilson, and Krystal Ramsey, a 2007 graduate of Tuskegee.