On Friday, Nov. 17, SLU’s music department held its semesterly choir concert, titled “A Vision of Hope,” at the Columbia Theatre. The production featured Bella Voce and Concert Choir, its two student ensembles.
“A Vision of Hope,” led by Dr. Frances Fonza, the newly-minted director of choral activities, was split into two acts and an intermission. The concert centered around themes of injustice, action and equality.
The first act featured Bella Voce, the treble ensemble, performing a mix of songs from various composers such as Andrea Ramsey’s “Hope Lingers On,” which called on listeners to stand strong “in their darkest hour” and fight against hate and prejudice.
The first act’s closer was Moira Smiley’s “I Have a Voice,” which used body percussion and multiple solos to remind the audience to not let their voices be diminished.
Freshman theatre major Arden Dubret, a soprano II in Bella Voce, said “I Have a Voice” was her favorite song of the night.
“It was so empowering to have so many talented women on stage together declaring our strength in femininity and demanding to be heard. The piece has so many layers and it was awesome getting to explore all of them while performing it. The body percussion…gave so much more punch and force to the piece,” Dubret said.
The second act highlighted Concert Choir, the mixed ensemble. They performed Kyle Pederson’s “A Vision Unfolding,” a piece splintered into five movements. Performers spoke intermittently during the song about injustice against marginalized groups and fighting for a better tomorrow.
Sophomore vocal performance major Chance Rodenkirch, a tenor I in Concert Choir, said his favorite movement was “Movement III: All of Me” due to the song’s message, which encouraged listeners to look past people’s outside appearances.
The concert concluded with both choirs joining together to perform the finale, titled “I’ll Make the Difference” by Moses Hogan. The piece exuded an enlightening and hopeful tone that stated “against all odds, we can live to share our love with others.”
Rodenkirch credited Fonza for an “exciting and extremely educational” semester of rehearsals culminating in what he said was their best performance.
“Finally performing the music was worth it after all this time. We put hours upon hours in and out of the classroom for those songs. The product was amazing. Dr. Fonza really pushed the choir to another level this year,” he said.
Dubret expressed a similar sentiment and commended the crowd for radiating an infectious energy.
Dubret said, “The rehearsal process was really awesome and engaging. Dr. Fonza really cracked down on us and she pulled beautiful music out of us. It was truly awe-inspiring seeing our process from the first day of rehearsals. We really fed off the palpable energy in the crowd. It felt so good to finally show people how hard we’d been working and what a beautiful program Dr. Fonza made.”
13Head to the music and performing arts department’s website or visit their Instagram for more information on upcoming concerts and events.
