Photo by Kait Covell
EMMA SCHAIBLE
Special to The Leader
Three conductors, two schools and one theater.
The talent in Rosch Recital Hall was overflowing with the many sounds of collegiate choir students.
On the sunny afternoon of Feb. 20, the Sixth Annual Intercollegiate Choral Festival was hosted by the Fredonia School of Music. Dr. John Warren of Syracuse joined Doctors Gerald Gray and Vernon Huff of Fredonia were the three conductors of the concert.
Gray conducted the Chamber Choir and College Choir. Huff conducted the Women’s Choir. Warren was the guest clinician of the concert and he conducted four songs.
Warm, welcoming applause from the audience greeted the members of the choir as they entered onto the stage. The first song titled I am Not Yours composed by David Dickau was conducted by Warren. The song was angelic and sweet, each note laced with emotion. The next piece titled Singet dem Herrn, ein neues Lied was composed by J.S Bach. This piece was energetically upbeat. This piece had a happy dance vibe and the lovely emotion of joy bubbling through the notes.
Nine students and professor Sean Duggan then came onto the stage with their musical instruments and joined the choir members. Together, the instrumentalists and vocalists sang a song with three movements. They performed perfectly in synch, in both rhythm and harmonies.
There was a great variety of songs performed by the choirs. Huff said, “primarily the chamber choir and the college choir [sang] the music of Bach … and the Women’s Choir [sang] a piece by Brahms and then … some spirituals and gospel music also, which are all in English. Another component of it [was] that Dr. Warren chose to do a piece to do with each of the choirs.”
Warren also conducted the final piece of the concert titled The Drunken Sailor arranged by Robert Sund. This piece included all three of the choirs singing together. There was also a selection of music from Johann Sebastian Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion,” which was performed at the Sixth Annual Intercollegiate Choral Festival.
In “St. Matthew Passion,” the evangelist is a tenor and serves as the narrator. Another role in the St. Matthew Passion preview was Jesus. “St. Matthew Passion” originated in Germany, therefore, the entire piece is sung in German. The selected pieces were conducted by Gray.
The last three pieces of the concert were all very diverse in the type of music that was performed. The first two songs – The Lamb composed by John Tavener and Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal arranged by Alice Parker were spiritually inspired. The last piece of the concert was uptempo and energetic.
All of the choirs came together to sing the final piece. Singers lined the entire stage — even up on the risers above. Clear diction, emotion and energy were all used to sing this last piece.
Audience members tapped their toes and bobbed their heads to the beat of the song. The song had a lively and cheery tone to it. As soon as the last piece was done, applause from the audience members erupted throughout Rosch.
“This is the third one I have been to,” said Jesse Torres, a junior music education major. “It’s always really excellent, beautiful music.”
“My favorite part of the performance was the ‘St. Matthew Passion,’” said Ariel Gelfand, a junior music therapy, applied music and psychology triple major. “I thought it was really wonderful.”
One of the next music events that will be hosted by the Fredonia School of Music is “St. Matthew Passion” with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra on March 9.