Three choral divisions joined together to provide one last show for the spring semester.
Held at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Music Building’s Boutell Memorial Concert Hall, the NIU Chamber Choir, the NIU University Chorus and the NIU Concert Choir joined together to provide musical pieces from a variety of time periods and places.
Eric Johnson directed the Chamber and Concert Choir and Mary Lynne Doherty directed the University Chorus.
Georgi Dimitrov, a Chamber Choir and Concert Choir bass, acted as the student conductor for the University Chorus’ “Dilmano, Dilbero.” Sam Lynas, a music composition major, wrote “The Gyres” and “Politics” for Chamber Choir.
The Chamber Choir started the concert with “The Gyres” and “Politics,” which were both based on poems written by William Butler Yeats.
“The Gyres” is a reflection on living through tumultuous historical events while “Politics” is centered on everyday beauty and ignoring the pain of the world. Both had an echoing, booming quality with “Politics” growing in volume and “The Gyres” being more energetic.
Daniel Chukwunyem, a graduate student majoring in music performance, had a prominent role in the Chamber Choir’s Nigerian piece “Kaabo” as a drummer accompanist.
“I enjoy drumming as much as I enjoy singing,” Chukwunyem said. “I got the chance to express my heritage, especially in drumming.”
One of the University Chorus’ pieces, “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers, had the choir dance along to the bouncy tone of the song.
The basses and tenors started the first verse, followed by the altos and sopranos before Doherty encouraged audience members to sing along. It was ultimately finished with a solo from tenor John White.
Another piece for the University Chorus, “Dilmano, Dilbero,” had the opportunity to be student conducted by Dimitrov. The Bulgarian folk song recounts raising a family and celebrating that family growth. The choir had clear diction starting with the basses and tenors, then the altos and sopranos came in blending the four groups.
The Concert Choir had its work cut out for them as most of their pieces were written in another language. The most difficult was “Al-Amira wa al-Ghraij” by Raman Subaram, a part of a trio of songs discussing love.
Chenoa Randolph, a sophomore music major and Concert Choir soprano, described why that song in particular was so difficult to learn and how her choir got around it.
“It was the most difficult because it was in Arabic,” Randolph said. “One member, Sondos Hassan, helped with pronunciation and different rules when it came to diction.”
Eric Johnson, director of choral activities, was overjoyed with how well this final concert turned out.
“Both Concert Choir and Chamber Choir did very well,” said Johnson. “I’m most happy with them all.”
The concert is also available on the NIU School of Music YouTube page as a livestream.
