By Brandon Chin
The halls of the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts echoed this past Sunday with the sounds of another concert in the Visual Performing Art’s Fall Series.
The afternoon performance consisted of a score of singers from the concert choir and select scores played by the concert band. Though only a small event, there was not a moment of silence as applause or music filled the air. With small congregations and celebrations lasting well after the performance, this concert was triumphed only by its free price of admission.
The first half of the show featured the elective concert choir class and a collection of four songs followed by the elective concert band and their respective series of four. The performance lasted for around an hour.
“I’ve been going since freshmen year,” Elizabeth O’Rourke, a senior education major, said. “Originally it was because I was in concert band, but I always enjoyed both band and choir. Every year I come and I really like it.”
The concert is part of an annual performance by Kathryn Black, artist-in-residence and concert choir director, and Leslie Sabina, Ph.D, professor of music and the concert band director.
Students from the choir and band have different majors, schedules and experience levels.
“The hardest thing about a concert is when to have rehearsal time,” said Sabina. “These groups rehearse 150 minutes a week but the problem is that everyone has something else to do, and when we do have practice, these students become physically tired and want to come less next time. It makes it very hard to get everyone interested in music to come together.”
The combination of simple, yet intriguing, music met or exceeded the expectation from previous years, according to O’Rourke and her sister Erin, a junior marketing major.
“They did just as good of a job as they did in the past,” said O’Rourke. “My favorite moment was the last song [“Mills on the Merrimack”]. It was upbeat and fun and made you want to dance.”
Reactions toward the choir were generally warm with the song “I Will Fear No Evil,” receiving applause from the audience for its beauty. The choir itself noted its difficulty.
“[The greatest difficulty of this concert] was learning the piece ’I Will Fear No Evil,’” said Jessica Stender, a senior journalism and mass communication major and soprano singer. “The harmonies were challenging for all parts to learn, and as Kathy Black said in the beginning of the concert it was the most challenging piece to date.”
This particular concert in the fall series featured one of the smaller groups of musicians and drew in a smaller crowd as a result.
“It doesn’t generate the kind of attention that Men’s basketball gets,” said Sabina, “I think that’s expected for a small program. I just hope that will be the type of presentation that will get people involved. This is a liberal arts college and with a fair amount of attention and participation it becomes something that works off of it itself.”
Nearly every student has had many years of experience and the prospect of joining a college ensemble while still in high school.
“When I came to St. Bonaventure, there was no doubt in my mind that I would join concert choir and audition for Chamber Singers,” said Brianna Wilson, a senior education major and alto singer. “Being a member of these choral ensembles on campus has truly been a bright spot in my four years here.
The next Visual Performing Arts fall performance is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 15 in the Rigas Theater at 2 p.m. The event will feature the larger Chamber Music Ensemble and independent studio musicians. Admission is free both to students and the community.
chinbl15@bonaventure.edu
