The groups were under the firm direction of Anna Song, director of choirs and assistant professor of music.
“Last year, we went up north to Canada, Washington, to the San Juans and the year before, south to San Francisco,” Song said. “This year, we went East since several students are from Idaho and have connections. So there were practical reasons.”
The concert began with the Men’s Glee Club which performed “Bar’bry Allen,” a traditional folk song and “Kiss the Girl” from “The Little Mermaid,” which received enthusiastic reactions from the audiences for its laid-back tune and humor.
The Women’s Vocal Ensemble sang two works, Opus 15: No. 2 Night and No. 6 The Angel, of Sergei Rachmaninov, from the Six Choral Songs. The women also sang a traditional Irish folk song, “Tell My Ma’” with the rhythmic accompaniment of spoons led by guest Vashon Bench and junior Jessie Goergen as soloist.
The Linfield Concert Choir’s program included a diverse range of songs that showed off the vocal capabilities of the Linfield Choir. Songs included the Kenyan piece “Wana Baraka,” American spirituals, Georgia and Hungary. The show also featured members presenting their humorous choir experiences, such as a group of female students singing a composed a capella for a male choir member.
The Choir experienced a few challenges, such as memorizing music and trying to hit the right notes, she said.
Freshman Angie Aguilar described one of the challenges on the tour.
“The first day, the bus broke down which made us two hours behind. Moreover, the first three days, some of us were tired of being on the bus,” she said. “We had a session where we talked about what we could do right. However, working as a group went well towards the end of the tour.”
Another Linfield choir member, senior Ryan Dickman, who is also an assistant conductor for the choir, said he believed that both the choir and tour went well.
“We overcame many challenges and became closer to one another,” he said.
Dickman said one of the toughest challenges he had was “finding personal meaning in songs and understanding them individually and as a group.”
Toward the end of the concert, Dickman conducted “Esti Dal” composed by Zoltan Kodaly.
“The piece was so lovely. It offered many challenges as a conductor,” he said.
The program included “favorite music, multi-cultural [music], as well as classical repertoires so students [could] be exposed to classical music,” Song said.
Song said it is important to experience live music.
“It’s a human way to express and to communicate. There’s nothing like listening to music, nothing like experiencing music live. We strive to stay true to what’s inside,” she said.
Song said she encourages students and faculty to participate in the Linfield Concert Choir and ensembles. No experience is needed, but a love of music along with openness to learning and trying new things is deeply appreciated, she said.
Students and faculty interested in participating in the choir or ensembles can contact Song at [email protected].
Yoko Gardiner/For the Review
Yoko Gardiner can be reached at [email protected].
