I like to attend different ensemble performances, especially if I have the chance to go for free. I also like to attend unique performances. This Saturday, I fulfilled both of my likings: a night performance by the two important choirs from the music department - University Singers and University Chorale - and a double graduate recital! “What does that mean?” you might ask. It means that two students are doing their recitals together on the same night. That is something that you do not see every year. But before I talk about this recital, let me give you some context.
The Master of Music in Conducting is an exciting program at Andrews University, where some of the future successful conductors from different parts of the world come to study and prepare for their careers, either in Choral Conducting or Instrumental Conducting. For this program, like most music degrees, the student has to prepare a recital as a partial fulfillment of the requirements. However, the recital for student conductors is quite different from a standard instrument recital; they have to conduct a large ensemble. That is not easy to do: several different minds under one, multiple sounds coordinating together to create a picture for the listeners. It is a different pressure from being a solo performer, as it also involves pedagogy, several rehearsals, lots of thinking about what kind of sound you want to create and then thinking about how to make the performers generate that sound. A conductor not only indicates pulses and dynamics; it is more than just telling people what to do.
The night performance started with Nicole Neugebauer’s (graduate, music) recital “Journey of Hope.” Her pieces were almost totally connected as it was related to the Hebrews’ Exodus to Canaan. She first directed the University Singers with some acapella pieces, one of them being in Spanish and another one in English, composed by her husband and music student Roy Bournissen (graduate, music education). As a Latina, I felt touched by the first Spanish piece, as it reminded me of my days as a teenager at church.
Later in the program, she directed a women’s ensemble and then a men’s ensemble, to then put them together as University Chorale and perform some beautiful pieces with piano accompaniment by Tyler Ninalga (senior, music performance), including another piece in Spanish, as she is Uruguayan-Argentinian. Nicole’s conducting style was smooth, calm, and gentle but clear for the ensemble and not shy.
After the intermission, the program went straight to Janelle Dobson’s (graduate, music) recital “He is Marvelous!” which was focused on praising God with a gospel touch. One of her pieces was even from Broadway, as she loves Broadway musicals, and it was personally connected to her experience when she was once driving in an early morning, and seeing a beautiful sunrise made her say, “What a beautiful morning!” (and thus, the song’s lyrics related to her). Tyler Ninalga and Eleanor Joyce (senior, music education) accompanied some of the pieces, and the program followed the same format as Nicole’s recital. Janelle’s conducting character is vibrant, energetic, and expressive, even noticeable in the choir’s volume raising. Her selection of pieces was also delightful and captivating.
Mr. Stephen Zork, the main conductor of the University Choirs, gave some fantastic comments about both conduction students, praising their commitment, pedagogy, and character. Also, the choir was very responsive to their conducting styles and produced the colors that each conductor wanted to paint for the listeners. Besides the amazing soloists for the pieces and the talented pianists, all the performers did a fantastic job!
My conclusion? The concert was a diverse and enriched experience for performers and listeners, with a high-quality performance and a deeply thought-out program. I cannot wait to attend their upcoming Christmas Performance on December 8, when these two talented music choirs will be singing along with the University Orchestra and joined by two other choirs. Doesn’t that sound amazing already? Then I hope you, dearest reader, will attend the next performance!
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.