After the brief period of warm weather, the return of cold weather and snow has caught Berrien Springs by surprise, which might have made some in the community feel downhearted as the landscape turns white again. Yet, as tradition goes, the Andrews University choirs prepared a set of songs that were meant to chase the blues away from the audience on the evening of Feb. 22 at the Howard Performing Arts Center. The university choirs, under the direction of Stephen Zork, joined the University of Notre Dame Chorale to bring the attendees a night of lovely songs with a special focus on nature.
Following some announcements, the concert started with introductory words by Zork, in which he explained his relationship with the Notre Dame Chorale, and his temporary role as interim director of the ensemble while Notre Dame is looking for a replacement director. Both choirs, the Notre Dame Chorale and the Andrews University Chorale, were placed together to sing, making it around 96 people on stage, singing together under Zork’s direction. The evening concert then started with a selection of three songs in German: one about music (“An die Musik”), the second about a pretty little bird (“Ein kleiner, hübscher Vogel”), and the third about the promise of tomorrow (“Morgen”).
The second and third pieces were conducted by Notre Dame graduate conductors Michael Olson and Zachary Flasch, respectively. All three songs, while containing more traditional harmonic sequences and melodies, reflected a warmer sound and a dynamic interaction between the different voice sections, as they responded to the conductor’s meditative and expressive indications. The graduate conductors also displayed charisma and control as they guided the choir to respond to their musical ideas. Aiyana Ybarra’s (sophomore, music performance) piano solo in the last piece was also a delight to hear, carefully and patiently played as if painting a sunrise.
In an interview with The Student Movement prior to the concert, Olson and Flasch shared a bit about their experiences working under Zork’s leadership. Both shared that the Notre Dame chorale started to prepare the repertoire six weeks previous to the concert date. Olson shared that the Andrews University Singers also visited their ensemble last Fall, and so they were glad to be making music together as two ensembles. Regarding Zork, Olson shared that he noticed “a change in the sound” of the ensemble and in the “anatomy of how they (the ensemble) sing.” Flasch added that Zork possesses “really interesting philosophies and pedagogies” which were clearly reflected in the ensemble’s sound.
After the German song selection, the ensemble was reduced to only the Notre Dame Chorale and the Andrews University Singers. Zork again took the leadership of the ensemble; his style being more expressive and confident, doing whatever it took to make the ensemble produce the sound that best fit the meaning of the music and lyrics. The songs, featuring mostly English-written poems and lyrics, required more precision of intonation and dynamics, which the choir successfully produced, even reaching enjoyment as some members would almost dance while singing some of the most energetic sections.
The University Singers took the entire stage, starting with an Argentinian song: “Gala Del Día,” conducted by graduate conductor Jahaziel Gutierrez. Gutierrez showed total control of the ensemble, while the choir performed with an almost natural Spanish pronunciation. After this song, Jonathan Clough (junior, music and math) performed again Donizetti’s “Una Furtiva Lagrima,” which he previously performed with the orchestra on Feb. 7. This time, however, he was only accompanied by pianist Kristi Corbett (sophomore, music). Clough was still capable of captivating the audience—even despite a baby’s cry interrupting the calm ending, of which Zork made some funny remarks to ease the tension.
The following three pieces of music were quite particular and showcased different sides of the choir’s musicality. The first one, an arrangement of the Beatles’ “Yesterday,” featured Clough as soloist singing in a more popular style as the choir performed the accompaniment without piano. The second piece, “A Mother Whale Lullaby,” not only featured Brenton Offenbach at the piano, but also featured an actual recording of a whale’s calling, to which the arranger of the music harmonized and created lyrics for the choir to sing and accompany the recording. The last song of that section, “Skylark,” was more intimate, in a blues style. It had Lyra Lacson (sophomore, music education) as the voice soloist and Debra Rosengren playing the flute. Lacson’s performance was yet another great highlight of the concert, with her warm and caressing voice that makes you feel safe and takes you into a dreamy journey.
For the very last song of the program, all the singers (including Notre Dame’s) joined together to sing, in Zork’s words, a “soulful” arrangement of “Danny Boy,” with Charles Reid, a music faculty member, as tenor soloist. A great amount of applause followed the last piece; a demonstration of the audience’s awe and enjoyment of what their ears and souls had just finished receiving.
As the night ended, audience members like Silenzio Ho (senior, aviation) expressed their amazement at the concert, particularly highlighting the “Mother Whale Lullaby” as a surprising and innovative performance. Daniel Cerna, an Andrews Academy staff member, was also glad to hear “some ones (songs) that I sang [...] when I was in the choir,” and he remarked how much he enjoyed the performance, which brought him “a lot of joy.”
Isabella DeMoraes (freshman, social work), a soprano in University Singers, shared her favorite songs “were definitely ‘Gala Del Día,’ ‘Skylark’ and ‘Dusk in June.’”
Bianka Rinko (graduate student, seminary), also a member of Singers, commented on the preparation process, mentioning that “each rehearsal has an uplifting atmosphere: with prayer before we get to the music and with cheerfulness during the whole time spent together.”
Ricardo Navarro (graduate student, seminary), who is part of the tenor section of the choir, highlighted that, despite the short amount of preparation time, Zork always shared his high energies with the whole ensemble in a contagious and positive way. Navarro shares that “he [Zork] sets up a very high standard for excellence in performing,” which Navarro considers “motivating and inspiring.”
From the audience’s standpoint, you could not tell the difference between one choir and the other, as both came together to produce the same sound. Zork’s musical ideas were excellently executed, depicting a safe and warm ambiance, bringing different natural elements onto the stage. Such sound was renovating for the heart, which did indeed chase the blues away.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.