Stevens Choir Spring Concert Promotes Diversity

Diversity was the theme at The Americas, Stevens Institute of Technology Choir's last performance of the spring semester. Under Director Bethany Reeves and Assistant Conductor and Pianist James Redcay, the 32 men and women who make up the Choir performed music and poetry from all across the Americas. The choir opened at DeBaun Auditorium at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 21 with a Feller from Fortune, a traditional Canadian piece arranged by Harry Somers. The Choir has been rehearsing for this concert since the start of the spring semester in January. The concert was divided into five sections with one 15-minute intermission. The first section focused on traditional songs such as James Erb's Shenandoah. Tenor Dan Miglin '10 was also a featured soloist on Carcalen's Ecuadoran Carpuela Lindo.
The second section moved onto songs and poems from Native American tribes entitled Indigenous Voices. In addition to Eskimo songs such as Lullaby and Improvised Song of Joy, Baritone Aaron Blum '08 recited Headwaters, a poem by N. Scott Momaday of the Kiowa from the southwestern United States. The choir then moved on to several short Native American songs drawn from traditional texts. Some of the songs featured were Song of Spring and Love Song from the Ojibwe and The Sunrise from the Tohono O'Odham. The Ojibwe are the third largest tribe in the continental U.S. and the Tohono O'Odham, People of the Desert, reside primarily in the Sonoran desert of the southwestern U.S. Tenor Ronen Peled '09, Soprano Tegan Shwartz '10, and Baritone Aaron Blum '08 then read excerpts from Sherman Alexie's Drums as Love, Fear and Prayer. Lakota Wiyanki, from the Lakota tribe in North and South Dakota, the next piece by the Stevens Choir, was accompanied by Baritone Michael Forbes '10 on a Native American frame drum. A 15-minute intermission followed Forbes's accompaniment.
Southern Exposure, the first section after intermission, drew songs from the many countries of South America. The first song was Preguntale a ese mar by Venezuelans Juan Bexoes and Inocente Carreno. Gabriela Mistral and Alberto Grau's Canciones de Cuna featured the Stevens Stute-Aires and soloists Marie-Joan Dutreuil '07, soprano and alto Maria Manacheril '07. The Stevens Stute-Aires are members of the Stevens community who are talented vocalists but due to classes or other prior obligations cannot practice with the choir on Monday and Thursday from 6:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. The Stute-Aires however practice on Thursdays from 9 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. allowing the other students to participate. Ernani Aguiar's Salmo 150 from Brazil rounded out The Southern Exposure portion of the concert. Bass Will Estes '10 said "I was very impressed with the music that was selected from Native American Culture. Their uniqueness was refreshing and the music's simplicity belies its rich texture."
Love & Reverie started with excerpts from Pablo Neruda's Chilean Epitalimio read by soprano Nantalee Kitpanichvises '09. The Stute-Aires then performed Winkler/Chatman's Memories. Love is more thicker [sic] by e.e. cummings about spoke on the many contrasting qualities of love was recited by Schwartz '10. Sopranos Alicia Mahon '08 and Cassidy DeSchryver '10 had solos in McKennitt's Tango to Evora. Alto Natalie Arndt '08 recited a Marjorie Pickthall (1883-1922) poem called Stars. Love & Reverie ended with Octavio Paz's Little Birds which was sung in Spanish and ended with the members of the choir fluttering their papers like birds. Chris La Pilusa '09 said "Though the choir might not have played the most 'popular' music, they did an excellent job.and it was a shame more of the student body did not take the opportunity to enjoy the music."
Americana featured two songs from Aaron Copland's opera The Tender Land. Director Reeves then invited all the Choir alumni in the audience to join the Choir in singing The Stevens Alma Mater in honor of the graduates of 2007. And with that, the last choir concert of the semester came to a close but The Center for Performing Arts has several events planned for the rest of April which is Stevens Arts Month. Tonight at 7 p.m. the students of Director Reeves will perform in the Spring Voice Recital in the Ondrick Music Room. Tomorrow, the Stevens Concert and Jazz Bands will hold their spring concert at 8 p.m. in DeBaun Auditorium. Stevens Arts Month will end with an Instrumental Recital featuring Stevens Instrument Ensembles and Soloists on Sunday, April 29 at 7 p.m. in the Ondrick Music Room.