Jarman Auditorium was nearly filled on Sunday evening, as the Longwood University Department of Choral Activities hosted their “Together We Sing” concert, featuring all of the on-campus choirs. Kicking off the evening were three student led groups; Pitch Perfect, Sigma Alpha Iota, and Lady Joan’s. Pitch Perfect performed “I See Fire,” featuring freshmen soloist Meredith Puryear, and a Britney Spears Medley including fan favorites “Toxic” and “Hit Me Baby One More Time.”
The members of Sigma Alpha Iota continued the evening with their performance of “Inspiration Boogie,” under the direction of sophomore Leah Parr. This piece was one from the group’s songbook and was very upbeat as the performers snapped along to the beat. Wrapping up the student led groups was the newest acapella group on campus, Lady Joan’s. This group performed “The Hanging Tree” and “Bottom of the River,” which featured soloist Katie Baldacci.
Next Dr. Pam McDermott gave a few opening remarks on how each group was made up of music majors as well as non-music majors, and informed the audience of the senior performances that would be occur in between groups. The first of the senior performances featured Taylor Quesenberry, playing clarinet and accompanied by pianist Carole Harper. Quesenberry performed movements one and five of “Suite in the Old Style,” providing the crowd with a preview of the other three movements she will perform at her senior recital. This piece was continually flowing and the repetition of parts by the piano really added to the piece.
Following Quesenberry was the University Men’s Ensemble, made up of seven talented, young men, who performed without the direction of McDermott, as she had to play the accompaniment. Their first selection, “Kyrie Eleison,” was a sad, somber piece, which was reflected in the performers tone, while singing and facial expressions. This piece transitioned into a more upbeat piece as the group sang “On the Deep Blue Sea” and included hand motions to illustrate the lyrics which drew laughs from the audience.
Next up on the program was the University Women’s Ensemble, under the direction of Fran Coleman. Coleman made a few remarks before the group began, by stating, “This first piece is by my favorite composer” and continued to read a brief translation. The first selection entitled “Dirait-on,” was a French folk song with a wonderful, yet quiet melody. Their second piece, as Coleman worded it, was a “typical hoedown,” entitled “Ching-a-Ring Chaw,” which is often a favorite among choirs. It was a very upbeat and lively piece and included the different voice parts mixing together and singing different lyrics.
The second senior featured was Taylor Liptak, who played a piece from the Baroque Era, entitled “Sonata K. 531 in E Major.” Liptak amazed the audience as she played the entire piece from memory, indicating that she had spent a lot of time practicing and perfecting the piece. This was one of the many pieces that Liptak will perform later in the semester at her recital.
The evening would feature performances from the Chamber Singers and the Camerata Singers, both audition groups open to all majors. The Chamber Singers is an all girls group, and under the direction of McDermott, performed three selections. The selections included “Ave Maria,” a somber piece with a sad tone and contrasting parts, “As Costureiras,” an upbeat piece sung in Portuguese, and “Sing Me to Heaven,” with a very uplifting message in the lyrics.
The last of the senior performances featured Kathryn Perry singing, “Viens, mon bien-aime!” which in English means “Come My Sweet Love.” This selection was a French piece indicating the coming of spring with the happy tone and uplifting accompaniment. Following Perry, the Camerata Singers took the stage to sing their three compositions: “Sanctus from Requiem,” “Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep” and “Shenandoah.” The last two pieces were performed acapella, and the intensity of the group was clearly exhibited through all three pieces.
As the evening came to a close, McDermott stated a few final remarks before combining the choirs commenting, “I have to have some fun with all of my classes,” and that was clearly true with their selection “The Wind That Shakes the Barley.” Featuring all of the evening’s choirs as well as a guitar and drum part, this piece really summed up the intensity and emotion of the evening as the choirs “rocked the house.” Of course the concert would not have been complete without the singing of the Longwood Alma Mater, by everyone in the auditorium.
The Longwood University Choirs put on a wonderful performance; if you weren’t there you truly missed out. If there is one thing you should do before you graduate, it's to see the hard work and talent of all of these groups at one of their concerts.
