Author: Sarah Madden

All are invited to attend Houghton A Capella’s final concert of the year, tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Wesley Chapel.  Admission is free, but the ensemble urges audience members to “bring a can if you can.”

Alto Michaella Aliperti ‘19 commented, “It’s going to be like nothing we’ve ever done before—we’re really excited to share all of our hard work with everyone…and the fact that we’ve turned it into a food drive is really cool and exciting, because we get to take something that’s already bigger than ourselves, and turn it something into even more. We can’t wait to see everyone there!”

Despite being a relatively new ensemble in the Greatbatch School of Music, Houghton A Capella quickly gained an elite status and a reputation for both high-quality and highly entertaining performances. Professor Rebekah Brennan, director of the group, titled the concert “Episode 1,” with the anticipation of creating a series of episodic concerts that are more elaborate than most traditional productions.

The repertoire of this concert is highly varied, ranging in genre from pop, to country, to worship music. It features songs by Reba, Michael Jackson, Walk the Moon, and more.

Music and equestrian studies double major (and soprano) Lauren Grifoni ‘19 stated, “This concert is going to be a fun experience for everyone to enjoy. We’re having so much fun putting the program together and we know the audience will enjoy it too. It’s going to be staged somewhat like a production with fun choreography and set pieces.” Saxophone performance major and bass Derek Chase ‘19 added that “There’s moments that give me chills and moments that get me really lit. You’ll have to come and see all the emotions!”

Houghton A Capella, formerly known as the Houghton Singers, is a group of 16 highly skilled vocalists, comprised of both music majors and non-music majors. “I hope other students at Houghton can see they can all audition and it’s not a ‘music major exclusive’ activity,” commented Chase. He went continued, “The whole group is really cohesive and we all work together very well. I think this show really demonstrates how this group has helped us form a really special friend group.”

Houghton ACapella includes a beatboxer, Ross Atherton (Bass) ’21, and three graduating seniors: Kingsley Kolek (Soprano), Ellenore Tarr (Alto),Vera Motley (Soprano), and Andrew Welch (Tenor). Both Kolek and Tarr are planning to return to Houghton next year to continue their studies at the graduate level. Motley is currently working on her first EP, Scream, which will be available on iTunes and Spotify on April 30. Welch, a theology major, described plans to become a youth pastor after graduation.

When asked about the concert, music education major Ethan Bast ‘21 (Tenor) ’21 coolly replied, “Bruh, it’s gonna be groovy like a drive-in movie.”

Houghton Symphony Orchestra will present its first concert of the Spring 2018 semester tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Wesley Chapel.  The orchestra has been working on the repertoire for this concert since the beginning of the semester, in tandem with music for the recent production of Oklahoma! and repertoire for their concert in April. When asked to comment on how she felt about the collection, computer science major and clarinetist Teresa Soley ’20 sarcastically quipped, “Some of the songs sound like things I’ve heard previously in movies.”

Dr. Armenio Suzano, dean of the Greatbatch School of Music and conductor of the orchestra, stated that “This concert [features] an incredibly eclectic program with something for everyone: from the old school Magnificent Seven movie score, to the delightful ‘Ashokan Farewell’ (Ken Burns’ Civil War documentary), to the gorgeous Schindler’s List theme and all the way to the heart-wrenching ‘Adagio for Strings’ by Barber (theme from the movie Platoon) and the must-have Star Wars theme. There will be a special movie theme for every movie and music lover!”

It has become a tradition for the orchestra to put on a “Music at the Movies” concert nearly every spring semester, because of the great opportunity it offers to reach out to the non-musical members of Houghton’s community. The popularity of film scores like Star Wars cannot be denied, especially when it features a saxophone part played by none other than the fantastic Derek Chase ’19.

Many of the orchestra members enjoy playing such familiar repertoire. They reported that it can be fun for musicians to take a break from the seriousness of Bach and Beethoven and delve into the well-known sounds of John Williams and Danny Elfman.   When asked if she was excited for the concert, Alanna Paris ’18 exclaimed, “I am! It’s my favorite concert of the year. It’s always fun to listen to music you know and to see just what Dr. Suzano might say that’s delightful in his opening remarks.”

Many hands always come together to organize concerts like the one tonight.. One important person who helped with the production of this concert is Kira Browning, second year graduate student and violist. She was able to offer some information on what the orchestra has planned for the evening.  “We’ll have introductions to many of the pieces showing a highlight from the movie to which the music belongs,” Browning explained.

Browning also added that “Two pieces [in] the concert feature the violin, with the solos to be played by our co-concert masters: Chantalle Falconer and Cassie Harrison.” The Houghton Symphony Orchestra’s co-concert masters will both be graduating this semester. Falconer is a third year graduate student studying collaborative piano performance. Harrison is a senior majoring in music education who will be going on to study Suzuki pedagogy at Ithaca College’s school of music.  Symphony Concert members reported that both Falconer and Harrison are incredibly talented musicians.

All members of the orchestra have been working hard on this fun and approachable repertoire and look forward to sharing it with the greater Houghton community.

The flagship vocal ensemble of the Greatbatch School of Music, Houghton’s College Choir, recently returned from their 2018 Mid-Atlantic Tour and now offer all of Houghton the chance to hear their music.  This exciting, well-rehearsed program will be performed at the College Choir’s Homecoming concert tomorrow, March 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the Wesley Chapel. The concert runs for about 90 minutes.

Houghton’s College Choir is an audition-only ensemble, open to sophomores and above.  Dr. Daniel David Black, a Houghton graduate school alumni from Minnesota serves as manager and conductor for the choir. Dr. Black encourages students from all majors to participate in auditions, which generally happen at the end of each semester.  Third-year graduate student and assistant conductor Jerome Bell managed this most recent tour.

In preparation for the tour and their other performances, the ensemble meets for 1 hour, 5 days a week to rehearse their demanding repertoire. The choir had a relatively short amount of time to learn, rehearse, and memorize the 17 advanced pieces they performed while on tour.

Despite the challenge, the choir’s repertoire was generally popular with the ensemble.  Many appreciated the traditional, familiar component of the pieces, although they also pointed out where the music went beyond what could be found in any church.

Lauren Grifoni ’19, who sings soprano with the choir, stated, “The theme of the tour was congregational singing, so most of the pieces were arrangements of old hymn tunes. I really like it because a lot of the music was familiar to me; stuff I grew up with singing in church but also in a newer style.”

Many of those in the choir agreed that the tour was exhausting. Many of them joke about how they don’t get a spring break, but they still find it gratifying. It is worth noting that many of the vocalists are also participating in Lyric Theatre’s spring show Oklahoma!, taking place in just a few short weeks. This means that many of the choir members are memorizing lines for two large productions and participating in multiple rehearsals every day. 

Several of the pieces from the tour repertoire benefited from the addition of instruments.  For the sake of efficiency, some students during the tour served as accompanists, in addition to singing in the choir.

When asked about this year’s tour and repertoire, music education major Michaella Alliperti ’19 exclaimed, “Tour was wonderful! It was just so wholesome and spiritually invigorating, as was the rep. We had a lot of time to reflect on what the words mean to us in relation to our lives. It was full of wonderful friendship and fellowship. Last year’s tour was great, but this year’s was even better.”

They traveled by bus through the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Ohio on their 14-stop tour. Each night, the choir stayed and fellowshipped with various families. The quality of these visits is often a highlight of the tour for the ensemble. When asked about these homestays, Kingsley Kolek ’18 said, “You just never know what you’re gonna get!”

When asked how he felt about tour, Derek Chase ’19 said, “As primarily an instrumentalist, it was exhausting yet rewarding to be on a vocal tour. Since this is Houghton, we all kind of knew each other already, but it was great to become closer friends with people you don’t know that well.”