This past Tuesday, SFA hosted this fall’s first Women’s and Choral Union choir concert. Now, instead of telling everyone about how great I thought it was from a spectator’s point of view, I’m going to share how the choir students felt, especially since I participated in the concert.
I’ve been a part off Choral Union for five semesters, and I enjoy every moment in it, even the difficult parts. It’s never easy having to learn music from scratch, learn the notes, sing the dynamics, and immerse yourself in the music. Yet, once you do, it’s a truly magical experience.
The Fall concert, held at Cole Turner Auditorium, is something I can be proud of.
The SFA music building. Photo by SaMaria Boyd.
Before the concert commenced, I felt the nervous twitch of butterflies fumbling in my stomach, ready to fly. It’s a normal thing to feel excited, as well as anxious, at your first concert of the semester. The other members of Choral Union, as well as the Women’s Choir, were all in good spirits. They sat around the choir room, chatting with each other, taking selfies with gigantic smiles on their faces. It was also exciting that the Lufkin High School Choir was there with us; they, too, were in high spirits.
When it was time for the concert to begin, I could feel the excitement rising in my body, like a volcano ready to burst. Lufkin High School went first and when they finished their performance (which was amazing, in every sense of the word), the Woman’s choir serenaded the audience with their brilliance. After them, it was Choral Union’s turn to take the stage; my choir was about to perform.
The air in the choir room tingled with energy, we were all ready.
As we walked into the concert hall, a smile graced my lips, and I could feel the happiness in my heart. I could feel it was going to be an amazing concert. Every piece we sang resonated throughout the hall, and despite my feet going numb from standing in one place, I was content.
If I had to choose a moment in the performance that would be memorable, it would be the last piece we sang. It was one we sang with Lufkin High School, they came up and helped recreate this astounding piece with us—”I Am Loved” by Christopher H. Harris. The power of our voices rang, reverbing off the walls, and into the ears of our audience.
It was a wonderful way to end a concert.
When all this was sang and done, I asked a close friend of mine what she thought of the performance.
“It was good!” Lauren Gifford said. She expressed to me that she felt the choirs were all syncopated with our music, and that she enjoyed it. She loved how powerful our sound was, and appreciated the musicality we had.
Even the Women’s and Choral Union’s Choir Director, Dr. Fish, expressed that he was immensely proud of the choirs and that the concert went wonderfully.
Now, I’ve told you my story of this concert, not just to let my readers know my experience, but for them to take into full account how us performers feel. It’s never an easy feat to go up on stage and sing these choral pieces. It is hard, and requires a full amount of dedication to put your all into something. I hope my readers can relate to this on some level. If you’ve never been to a choir concert, I’d say give it a try.
You may like it more than you think.