The School of Music showcased the university’s best voices in their annual Winter Choral Festival last Wednesday night, Feb. 26 from 8:15-9:15 p.m. A large and eager crowd filled the Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre for an evening of world class singing and beautiful accompaniment. The group had been preparing all semester and the crowd settled in anticipation at hearing their result.
The night began, as always, with the Women’s Chorus, under the directorship of Dr. David P. DeVenney. The Women’s Chorus was accompanied by pianist, accompanist, and teacher, Jordan Timchal. Exuding cheer and energy, the Women’s Chorus welcomed the audience with selections that were very joyful which provided a positive and upbeat start to the concert. Dr. DeVenney’s women’s chorus performed wonderfully, setting the stage for the group’s to come.
The more selective women’s ensemble, Cantari Donne, directed by Ryan Kellyand accompanied by Heyji Park, performed with strikingly dynamic maturity. Their selections included Franz Schubert’s “Ständchen” featuring a lovely performance by Emily A. Bullock, assistant chair of the vocal department. Cantari Donne performed beautifully and left the audience almost breathless with the grace and flow of their beautiful voices. The women sang in perfect harmony and had perfected their balance between each voice part. The audience was blessed to have witnessed such audible grace.
Closing the evening was the Men’s Chorus, once again led by David P. DeVenney. Accompaniment was provided not only by Jordan Timchal, on piano, but also by Sheldon Sutton on flute, and Jason Reed on bass. Each of the performers greeted the audience with beautiful harmonies. The musicians played with perfected grace throughout the night. The men took on a slightly darker tone, which was especially shown in Andera Ohrwall’s beautifully haunting “Fäboldpsalm från Dalarna” featuring soprano Theresa Whitehead. Their selections, as well as their voices, offered the audience a wonderful balance in music selections that contrasted those that had come before.
The last piece of the night was Aaron Copeland’s “Stop Your Foot (The Tender Land).” The chorus provided hopeful thoughts as they sang, “Take a breath of fresh June air and dance around the room”; a much needed thought during this seemingly never-ending winter storm. The audience left having been more than satisfied with each group’s performance.
For more information on the upcoming performances of any of the chorus groups, visit their webpage at: http://www.wcupa.edu/cvpa/.
Hilary Pyo is a third-year student majoring in English. She can be reached at HP815477@wcupa.edu.