May we stand (may we stand) together, always
May our voice be strong
May we hear the singing and
May we always sing along (along)
Sing, sing gently, always
Sing, sing as one (as one)
Singing gently as one.
For the few magical seconds after the last resonances died down, no one said a word. I held my breath and didn’t even want to clap, lest it disturb the beauty and inspiring peace that remained from Eric Whitacre’s “Sing Gently.” And that was just the opening selection.
On Saturday night, October 30, the three choir groups of Andrews University gave a beautiful performance of works expressing joy, peace, and dreams of harmony, from psalms to Hebrew love songs to gospel arrangements. Featuring popular and beloved choral composers like Eric Whitacre, Dan Forrest, John Rutter, and Morten Lauridsen, there was an abundance of soulful works of art that reached further than the ears, deep into the heart and sought to be more than a mere catchy tune. Stephen Zork, the conductor of all three choirs (Canta Bella, Pioneer Men’s Chorus, Andrews University Singers) says, “these students learn a lot of music in three weeks ... they had to dig deep into their soul, into their spirituality as well as their artistic and creative muse. It’s very hard ... to be able to be intentional about the poetry--some of the poetry we did was very beautiful, and they were able to dig down deep and understand it.”
Some notable pieces include “Kalá Kallá'' (from “Five Hebrew Love Songs”) by Eric Whitacre, a love song to his then-girlfriend Hila Plitmann in response to the Hebrew love poems she sent to him. Zork says, “I won’t go into all the translations of it, but if you’re familiar with the Biblical “Song of Solomon,” then you’ll have just a little bit of the flavor of this piece. “Kalá Kallá” is translated as ‘Light Bride.’ He [Whitacre] said it’s a pun, both a play on the word ‘light’ as in light, and ‘light’ as in...not heavy.” Simon Luke Brown (senior, violin performance) and Jason Marquez (junior, clarinet performance) joined the piece on violin and tambourine, respectively; with alternating sections of lyrical song and rhythmic dance in the Hebrew style, Canta Bella delivered a compelling performance of this fantastic work.
One of my personal favorites was Dan Forrest’s “Come to Me,” featuring cellist Jamison Moore (senior, music performance). Performed by the Pioneer Men’s Chorus, it started out with simple repetitions of the word “come,” but later blossomed into a myriad of colors and harmonies that had me searching up and listening to the song online afterwards. With baritone/bass Charles Lawson (graduate, MDiv) singing the solo with a clear, sweet tone, the descending bass line in the piano, and rich cello countermelodies, it was a heart-stirring performance, certainly one that managed to reach my soul and many others in the audience. It’s songs like these that completely changed my perspective on choral music, which I confess I haven’t listened to much of before attending these choir concerts.
Later on in the program, the choir members smoothly shuffled to rearrange themselves into the larger University Singers group, and Professor Zork moved to the piano while Marcus Carter, (senior, music) tenor and Administrative Assistant in the music department, moved to the back on bass guitar for James Taylor’s “Shed a Little Light.” It was reminiscent of a gospel group setup, minus the drums. As tenor Abel Siamubi (senior, music and organizational management) stepped forward to the microphone and the distinctive harmonic and rhythmic style of the accompaniment started, my hunch was confirmed and it became clear that the spirit of gospel music ran throughout James Taylor’s commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. and the social-political movements of the 60s. After the concert, Zork mentioned that in line with the genre, he had improvised the entire piano accompaniment, which is an impressive feat by itself. Overall, this selection certainly had the energy and powerful yearning for peace that is as relevant now as it was during the Civil Rights Movement–something we could all use today.
This choir concert in particular featured a multitude of instrumentalists and guest student conductors from around the music department. Professor Zork notes that it’s a testament to Andrews’ music education that the student conductors, Cyril Punay (graduate, choral conducting) and Daniel Soochkoff-Cerna (junior, music education), could garner respect and build rapport with the choir members so well that rehearsals went smoothly and efficiently. As waving the baton is only a tiny fraction of what conductors do, directing rehearsals requires the time management, efficiency, and extensive musical knowledge of a professional to get the choir ready to perform a brand new piece in three weeks time. For this reason, a huge congratulations is due to those students who stepped up, both figuratively and literally, to the podium. Furthermore, an acknowledgement is also due to pianists Tyler Ninalga (junior, piano performance), Emily Jurek (senior, piano performance), Samantha Cardwell (sophomore, piano performance), Gabriel Palacios (senior, piano performance) and other instrumentalists who all did an excellent job of collaborating with the three choral groups to produce an end result of such beautiful sonorities.
In closing, I think the power of the poetry these composers and performers brought to the concert hall speaks for itself, so let me leave you with the unity-yearning lyrics from James Taylor’s “Shed a Little Light” that were sung on stage that night:
There is a feeling like the clenching of a fist,
there is a hunger in the center of the chest.
There is a passage through the darkness and the mist
and though the body sleeps the heart will never rest.
Oh, let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King
and recognize that there are ties between us.
All men and women living on the Earth,
ties of hope and love, sister and brotherhood.
(See https://howard.andrews.edu/events/ for information on upcoming concerts and events)
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.