Trinity vocal ensembles raise their voices in song

Members of the Men’s Glee Club perform a piece entitled “Gotta Mind to do Right,” arranged by David Morrow, at the Fall Choral concert on Tuesday evening. All four choirs performed in this concert. Photo by Carly Cowen.

At 7:30 p.m., Oct.23 in Parker Chapel, four of Trinity’s vocal ensembles collaborated for the annual Fall Choral Concert.

Led by the director of choral activities and assistant professor of music Gary Seighman, the Trinity Choir, Trinity’s oldest music ensemble, Voix d’Esprit, Trinity’s all-female vocal ensemble, Men’s Glee Club, Trinity’s male chorus ensemble and the Chamber Singers, an ensemble of 24 vocalists specially selected from the Trinity Choir performed a variety of pieces, including two pop tunes.

“There was a lot more moving around this year and a lot of different combinations of voices,” said Rachel Lake, senior and choral assistant.

This year’s performance also featured the world premiere of a piece called “Frozen In,” written by composer Dale Trumbore. Trumbore composed the piece specifically for Voix d’Esprit and was actively involved in the production of the concert.

“We began rehearsing our pieces several hours a week at the start of the semester,” said Anna Van Buskirk, sophomore vocalist. “We were able to Skype Ms. Trumbore during our rehearsal, and she gave us guidance regarding the direction she had in mind for the piece.”
Van Buskirk was featured on one of the pop pieces the ensembles performed. She was the soloist for “My Immortal” by Amy Lee.

“It’s such a wonderful song that I really got into character and forgot about the audience,” Van Buskirk said.

The performance also featured several Trinity students as accompanists on piano, percussion, violin and flute.

“We also used a lot of external instrumentalists,” Lake said.

Junior Nond Hasbamrer attended the concert to support his friends involved in the performance.

“They did a really good job planning the contemporary music with the modern music,” Hasbamrer said.

With over 100 students participating in the performance, this Fall Choral Concert was one of the largest.

“[The concert] is a really good experience in general,” Hasbamrer said. “One, it’s free and two, it just makes you a more rounded individual.”