Archive for October, 2015

Singing in the City that Never Sleeps

October 19th, 2015 by arouel16

As the school year progresses, I’ve been able to experience and capitalize on so many amazing opportunities in the College Choir and Chamber Singers.  Just one short week ago, I was able to travel to New York City with the Chamber Singers!  From being special guests at a high-end restaurant and performing our repertoire for a group of esteemed individuals, to exploring the city and walking the Brooklyn Bridge together, it truly was a night to remember.

Perhaps the most poignant moment was when we all walked across the Brooklyn Bridge — some of us in pairs, some of us in small groups, and some of us alone.  As we walked down the designated path, the city was literally all around us.  As far as the eye could see, there were lit-up bridges, high-rise apartment buildings, universities, and the East River.  Walking in my performance attire and feeling extremely lucky, I traversed the bridge in awe.  In that moment, I felt completely free and lightweight, and there was no one I would rather have been with than my new family.  It may have been midterm week, but all stress I had was alleviated.  As I breathed in the air around me — surprisingly clean and fresh for the city that never sleeps — I felt a sense of contentment and happiness envelop me.  In one afternoon and night, I was able to create lasting memories with my dearest Holy Cross friends — and that is something I can’t wait to do again next year and in future trips and performances to come. – Elizabeth Driver ’19

Hitting the Ground Running

October 2nd, 2015 by arouel16

Hello everyone! School is in session and the Chamber Singers and College Choir have hit the ground running. With our PA$$ION concert just around the corner on October 23, we’ve been experimenting with different harmonics in order to create different qualities of sound. We’ve experimented with softer and pure vocal qualities as well as belting or “scream” type qualities. We differentiate these qualities by using terms like “whoop” and “HEY” to help realign our vocal tract to the space necessary to create a pure quality versus a “Broadway-like” one. It’s interesting how the slightest adjustment to the voice can change an entire feeling and meaning of a piece.

As for the Chamber Singers, there has been a lot of focus on the blocking for our concert in November that is entirely dedicated to opera. It’s been fascinating to watch as each person develops and commits to his or her character. People are discovering relationships and storylines with one another. Personally, I’ve found my character completely transform from the first week of creating her to our past rehearsal. After singing through all the pieces, we have begun to realize how our characters’ feelings shift from the beginning to the end of the show. We’re finding key moments in each piece to emphasize our character’s emotions towards each other. Whether it’s a solo or a group number, it’s fun to play around with each song and see how all the characters react in each piece. At times it has been challenging to stay in character while singing in German or French or even English! This concert is nothing like I’ve done before and I couldn’t be more excited to see this final product! I hope you are too! – Carley Buckley ’18

Be sure to check back next week for another blog update from the College Choirs 🙂