By Julie Bauer, Staff Writer
The Department of Music held a performance featuring the University Choir, University Singers and University Chorale on Nov. 9.
The University Choir and Chamber Singers were conducted by Assistant Professor of Music Amy Voorhees and the University Chorale by Adjunct Faculty in Music Judith White.
The concert also featured piano performances from Lecturer in Music Jaime Namminga and sophomore Kaitlyn O’Brien.
The concert’s repertoire contained music from a variety of periods in musical history in English, French and other languages.
The concert opened with a performance of “Tango to Evora,” a 1991 piece that was originally written for a documentary about European witch-hunts from the 16th and 17th centuries, according to the concert’s program.
Following this was “Les Chant des Oiseaux,” a song meant to evoke the image of a flock of birds rising as the earth thaws for spring.
The concert then continued with “I Have Longed for thy Saving Health,” an Estonian piece called “Muusika” and “Ascendit Deus.”
The next piece, Mozart’s “Laudate Dominum,” featured a solo from junior Vicky Meneses and instrumental accompaniment by junior Lucy Ferruzza on organ, junior Briana Heinly on violin, sophomore Dustin Dicely on cello and first-year Benjamin Adelberg on bassoon.
The concert continued with performances of: “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree,” “A Red, Red Rose,” “Thou Art My Life, My Love, My Heart,” “Arma Lucis: The Armor of Light,” “All Creatures of Our God and King,” “Lullaby,” “Kasar Mie La Gaji,” and “If Music Be The Food Of Love.”
Junior Honor Ford performed as part of the University Chorale. Ford’s favorite piece from the performance was “Thou Art My Life, My Love, My Heart” by James Mulholland.
“That piece is my favorite because it has such a way of building, both in dynamics and emotion throughout,” Ford said. “It starts off softly and builds to a crescendo that pulls at your heartstrings.”
“The harmonies allow for different voice parts to be heard at different times,” Ford continued. “Working to craft those features was incredibly interesting for me.”
Voorhees said she enjoyed conducting “Kasar Mie La Gaji,” by Alberto Grau, the most.
“The unique nature of the tune, in terms of style and the various sounds heard throughout the piece, offer a technical challenge as well as audience appeal for a successful performance of the piece,” Voorhees said.
She also commended the music groups on their performance.
“I am extremely proud of all the choral ensembles at Susquehanna … and the efforts put forth for this first choral performance,” Voorhees said. “I look forward to sharing our music with the broader Susquehanna community for the upcoming annual ‘Christmas Candlelight’ service on Dec. 4,” she continued.
According to Ford, preparation for the performance started as soon as school began.
“The pieces we were doing were challenging in that they required a fair amount of work from each individual choral member outside of our rehearsals to learn notes and dynamics,” Ford said.
“I’ve been involved [with] choral groups since I was a little kid and it’s always fulfilling to see your hard work come to fruition,” Ford continued.
Voorhees, as a new addition to the music department faculty, recognized the challenges of working with a new group.
“We’re also still learning about each other as people and musicians,” Voorhees said. “The relationship between a conductor and an ensemble requires a tremendous amount of trust and takes time to build a system that everyone believes in.”
“We are still finding our way through this challenge, but the singers are doing their best to adapt to new leadership,” Voorhees continued. “I am confident our concert showed that growth in many ways.”
Ford expressed the hope that the audience simply let the music carry them away for awhile during the performance.
“I hope the concert was a time for them to escape the stresses of life and enjoy some beautiful, diverse music,” Ford said.
“I am so blessed to be in a community that supports the arts and allows me to do what I love,” she continued. “It takes a community to produce a concert.”