For many years, Longwood University has hosted events in which high school band students, from the surrounding areas, come in and get a crash course in musical performance on the collegiate level. This year, choir students from local high schools, got to get in on the act.
Students were given their sheet music a few weeks in advance of the performance, but only had a two-day crash course, to learn the complex songs. Cynthia Ruiz-Knuckles, a sixteen-year-old from Powhatan High School, spoke about the whorl-wind experience.
"Oh my goodness, well we were here all day Sunday and Monday, but then we practiced when we went home. We listened to the recordings of the songs before that, we probably put a good week into it. "
The students in both the women's and mixed ensembles had to learn complex pieces of music, some of which were even in Latin. Ruiz-Knuckles said that, while it was a challenge, it was also a lot of fun. In fact when asked about her favorite songs to perform, Ruiz-Knuckles said some of her favorites were the more challenging pieces.
"I really liked ‘Amen, Siakudumisa,’ but ‘Juntos’ was a lot of fun too. The director really got into it with us, and we got to know all the girl through singing it, it was great."
Dr. Pamela McDermott, Longwood University's Director of Choral Activities, organized the event which involved almost sixty high school students. She said she couldn't have done it without the help of many Longwood music students.
"The great thing is, I got our Longwood students involved. We have one student, she is going into arts administration, so she handled a lot of the logistics on the Longwood side," said McDermott. "We had Longwood music students sitting in on a lot of the rehearsals; they lead some of the rehearsals. So they got to work with not only the students, but the directors, so they got some training, they were really behind the scenes gurus. "
The end result, of all that planning, practicing and hard work? A lovely performance, by some very talented young singers. The students performed a captivating mix of challenging pieces and stirring ballads, such as “Seal Lullaby,” by Eric Whitacre, and “Ritmo,” by Dan Davison.
A great opportunity for choral students that produces an afternoon of entertainment for Longwood students and faculty, hopefully a tradition has begun.
