A choral review

I’m gonna start off by saying that I was never a huge fan of choir music. Now don’t get defensive if you do. Hear me out.

I could be called a musician. I’ve played guitar since I was in elementary school and played violin in orchestra in middle through high school. So I do know music.

I say that I have never been a huge fan of choir music because of memories of ear-shattering middle school choirs. I actually haven’t attended a choir performance since then. And for those of you who have never sat through a middle school choir concert, let me set the stage. Tiny tone-deaf children who just barely learned their scales and trying to learn how to count beats screeching at you for a good half an hour or so. In my opinion, worse than nails on a chalkboard. I understand, though. I sounded the same when I learned violin in middle school, but it was a difficult experience nonetheless.

This past Wednesday, Oct. 10, I decided to try out Colorado Mesa University’s (CMU) Choral Invitational performance. And in brief, I was pleasantly surprised. 

To start off, I was super excited about the venue. I have attended numerous events in the Moss Performing Arts Robinson Theatre, but this specific performance was held in Love Recital Hall. I love this room. It is smaller, has great acoustics and the twinkling lights above the stage really took the ambiance to a new level.

I was also surprised at the turnout, especially on a late Wednesday evening. The diversity of the audience was surprising as well. Young children to older community members were in attendance of the recital.

I was also surprised, and initially worried, to find out that in addition to the CMU choirs, the Rifle High School Advanced Women’s Choir and the Grand Junction High School Men’s Choir were to perform.

Rifle’s Women’s Choir, directed by Daryl Gingrich, took the stage first and I was pleasantly surprised. Even though it seemed as though they started off roughly.

They sang Msilale Wanawake, an upbeat Kenyan proverb song. I wasn’t a huge fan of the song itself. It was extremely repetitive, and since female choirs sing in a higher pitch, it grated on the nerves a little.

The choir also sang Truth by Andrea Ramsey. This song was really interesting. Normally choirs are accompanied by a piano in order for singers to keep their pitch and to add more depth. They went accompanied only by a drum of some sort. That definitely impressed me. They had to keep their pitch without something to check against, and as far as I could tell, they did.

Their last song was my favorite, though. They sang Music Down in My Soul by Malory Barrett and Kalene Brand. They were on pitch, the song was fun and the students seemed to enjoy the song. They swayed and bobbed a little to beat. They even had a portion of the song where they began clapping to the beat, invoking that gospel style of performance. It was a strong ending to their segment of the night.

When the second group took the stage, the Grand Junction High School Men’s Choir directed by Brad Hirsh, I literally “awed” at them. As in ‘aww they are adorable.’ They were so tiny!

Megan Lawson | The Criterion

But don’t be fooled, they are young men!  They could indeed sing. They also sang three pieces, Omnia Vincit Amor, Keep A-Goin’, and Man of La Mancha. Although these songs were also a bit repetitive, they were highly entertaining. The songs suited the choir’s vocal range, the piano accompaniment was entertaining (especially the hot pink socks and the fact that his sheet music kept trying to jump off the piano due to a strong breeze), they also added in some comical features. At one point a boy cried out hysterically to accentuate his sadness, which elicited raucous laughter from the audience, and they had a fun ending pose which you can see from the picture.

Now I will mention a few compliments via music jargon. I was honestly surprised at the swells. For those of you who don’t know, that’s when they gradually grow louder and then quiet a little. It is about their dynamics. And I won’t bother you with the details, but I was surprised at how well they did as a high school choir.

Next came the CMU Women’s Choir. They started off with Pcholka or The Honeybee. They had amazing vocal range. And they were clear and bold vocalists. From my previous experience choirs sound really soft and airy when singing, but these women didn’t. Their singing had the full oomph factor. They had very strong and controlled vibratos. 

Megan Lawson | The Criterion

When they went onto their second piece, Three Mountian Ballads they utilized nice dynamics and swells. For the second movement, or ballad, a student from the choir stepped up to conduct, which definitely surprised me. She held a steady beat for the entire choir.

Overall, I was really surprised at how good our women’s choir is. And I was nostalgic over the conductor’s attire. He really reminded of my middle school orchestra conductor who also used a baton when conducting and always wore his tailcoat suit during performances.

Next was the CMU Men’s Choir. And I think they were my favorite. In total, they performed six different songs. They also performed under a guest conductor – Cierra LeVan. I was quite impressed. I have been in orchestras with guest conductors and from my experience, it can be really challenging. Every conductor kind of has their own way of doing things. Thankfully, LeVan’s conducting style was clear and easy to follow. She cued sections in on time and conveyed what sections to add dynamic emphasis to.

They brought out a violinist, Brittni Nack, to accompany them in their performance of A Red, Red Rose. That was a sure-fire win in my book. 

They went on to sing Songs of a Young Man, a song that captured the passage of time in one’s life. The first part was upbeat and they choir had fun with it. The second part drifted into a more solemn tone. They really captured the message with accuracy. They also ended their performance with an entertaining jazz and kind of swing vibe. They actually improvised the piano accompaniment. I never would have guessed if they hadn’t told the audience.

The evening ended with a combined performance of Alleluia canon. I honestly enjoyed it; the entirety of the evening, despite my prior misgivings. And I cannot encourage you enough to see them perform.