The Women’s Chorale and Concert Choir took the stage on Thursday, March 31. The two groups performed at First United Methodist Church at 7:30 p.m. Barely a seat was left empty as spectators piled in to hear the students sing.

The evening was split into two parts. The first half consisted of performances by the concert choir, which was co-ed, and then the women’s chorale. After a brief intermission the concert choir returned to the stage. The second half of the concert was made up of performances by the full group and also by several select ensembles.

“I thought they did a great job,” said Alissa Mercurio Rowe, vocal area coordinator, who has been conducting at Southeastern for nine years. “It was long and I didn’t realize for some of the kids in both groups how hard it was going to be to sing both halves. They did a beautiful job. I was really proud.”

Many of the songs performed revolved around the themes of religion or the beauty of nature. The Concert Choir opened the concert with “Lux Aeterna,” which was composed by Morten Lauridsen, and was drawn from sacred Latin texts containing references to light. Also, several of the pieces were German, such as “Fünf Gesänge, Opus 104,” originally written by composer and pianist, Johannes Brahms.

“I think this is one of the best concerts we’ve had since I’ve been here, actually,” said Alyssa Carranza, a junior majoring in music education. “I just thought it was a nice mix of music and it was really easy to connect to the audience.”

Many of the songs were accompanied by piano, played by staff accompanists Charles Effler and Raisa Voldman. One song was led by student conductor Baylie Stillwell, a music education senior. Another song was led by student conductor Grady Sandidge, a vocal performance senior. The piece, “i carry your heart with me” by Z. Randall Stroope, was accompanied by Zorica Dimova on the violin and a soprano solo by Kimberly Dupre, a vocal performance junior.

A crowd favorite of the night was “This Little Light of Mine,” arranged by New Orleans native, Moses Hogan. This piece included solos by Jordan Leggett, Damian Faul, and Kayla Louis.

“The performance was superb, much more than I could have imagined,” said Leggett, a sophomore majoring in vocal performance. “My favorite song was ‘This Little Light of Mine.’ I’m a big fan of spirituals and it was really nice to hear Moses Hogan’s rendition. I’m honored to have sung with this choir.”