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Rebecca Keith
IU Alumni Association
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Last modified: Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Soprano Sylvia McNair among speakers at 2013 IU Baccalaureate ceremony

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2013

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Two-time Grammy Award-winner and Indiana University faculty member Sylvia McNair will be among the speakers at Baccalaureate, an interfaith celebration of academic achievement held Friday, May 3, the day before undergraduate commencement at IU's Bloomington campus.

The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. at Whittenberger Auditorium of the Indiana Memorial Union, 900 E. Seventh St. A short reception will follow the one-hour ceremony. All members of the Class of 2013 and their parents, family and friends are invited to attend. Admission is free, and no tickets are required.

A university committee composed of campus chaplains, students, faculty, staff and representatives of major faith traditions meets periodically throughout the year to organize the event. It features prayers from different faith traditions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism and Unitarian Universalism. There will be music from the Native American tradition and a closing prayer from the Baha'i faith, as well as Tibetan chant and prayers in Arabic, Hebrew, English and Sanskrit.

McNair's career highlights include performances for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican and for Hillary Clinton, as well as a recital at the U.S. Supreme Court by special invitation from Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. A senior lecturer in music at IU's Jacobs School of Music, McNair has been a regular guest soloist with many major American and European orchestras and opera houses.

Pay parking for Baccalaureate is available at the Indiana Memorial Union, 900 E. Seventh St., and at the Jordan Avenue parking garage, which is north of Read Hall at 125 S. Jordan Ave., between Third and Seventh streets.

IU Bloomington's commencement ceremonies will take place May 3 and 4 at Assembly Hall, 1001 E. 17th St. The graduate commencement ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. Friday, May 3. There will be two undergraduate ceremonies on Saturday, May 4, beginning at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.