Rss

Costa Rica tour reveals new experience for choir

Posted by :jprokop On : February 28, 2013
0

Category: Culture, The Rest

Tags:, , , , , ,

The Linfield College Con- cert Choir did more than just sing at its first spring show- case performance at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22 in Ice Auditorium.

The choir department spent 10 days in Costa Rica during January Term break from Feb. 2 to 12. In addition to performing, the students discussed their experiences and shared what they learned about Costa Rican culture and music.

“Essentially, we gave formal concerts almost every night,” said junior Jaimie McDonald, the choir tour manager.

The choir department visited Catholic and Methodist churches and several other locations in Costa Rica where it performed in front of Spanish speaking audiences.

“We shared our music with the people there during formal and informal performances, while transcending the language barriers,” Max Milander said. “Despite many of us not speaking Spanish and performing songs mainly in other languages, the power of music definitely helped us accomplish that goal. Thankfully, we all rose to the occasion night after night and kept a positive attitude no matter what the obstacles were.”

Language barriers were not the only aspect of Costa Rica that the choir depart- ment struggled with.

“There’s this cultural difference in timing,” McDonald said. “They run on ‘tico time,’ essentially, anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour behind schedule on everything. It actually helped us relax a little bit—we’re so used to being busy-bodies and needing to rush, but we had to slow down and learn to wait. It was good for us.”

Trips abroad are opportunities for students to bond and get to know one another in different environments.

“Every choir tour is an incredible opportunity for growth, both individually and as an ensemble,” McDonald said.
In addition to their performances, Linfield students did an exchange with local uni- versities and a children’s hospital. They also had free time in which they spent visiting a cloud forest and hot springs resort.
While in Costa Rica, the choir experienced Calypso music. Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that is common among most musical forms in Costa Rica.

“It’s hard to pick just one favorite memory out of this amazing trip,” sophomore Charlotte Laport said. “One of my top favorites would be to look out in the audience and to see President Hellie look so proud of us at every concert.”

President Hellie accompanied the choir department on its trip to Costa Rica.

“The choir sang well even at the beginning of the tour, but as it performed for increasingly enthusiastic audiences, it became more confident, relaxed, and unified,” Hellie said. “It was fun to hear them in such diverse venues: in cathedrals and performance halls but also in a city park, a hospital lobby, a cafeteria and even a tropical cloud forest. I was very proud to be with them.”

Sarah Mason
Staff writer

Sarah Mason can be reached at linfieldreviewculture@gmail.com.

Concert Choir tour: It’s more than just singing

Posted by :jprokop On : April 9, 2012
0

Category: Culture

Tags:

The Linfield Concert Choir performs during its April 4 homecoming concert in Ice Auditorium. Kate Straube/Photo editor

The Linfield Concert Choir used its recent tour of New Mexico and Arizona as more than just an opportunity to sing, but an opportunity to grow.

“Tour was many things, but most of all, it was a journey the students and I embarked on together filled with opportunities to make music together and share the joy of singing with others who love to sing, as well as those who do not have easy access to live music,” said Anna Song, choir director and assistant professor of music. “There were opportunities to grow musically, emotionally, spiritually, and as an ensemble, and opportunities to represent Linfield in a different part of the country.”

The choir toured Phoenix, Prescott, Sedona, Winslow and Window Rock in Arizona and Albuquerque and Santa Fe in New Mexico.

Sophomore and Concert Choir Secretary Jaimie McDonald said that the most valuable experience she had during tour was visiting a rehabilitation center in Sedona, Ariz.

“Mostly for older adults with medical rehabilitation needs, the rehab center was a very quiet place,” McDonald said. “When we performed, you could just feel the energy in the room brighten up, and the smiles on the patients’ faces were huge. It was so special to bring joy to their lives through music.”

McDonald said that bringing happiness to the audience is what the choir tries to do every time they perform.

“One of the best things about being a service-based choir is the giving of oneself to others and also having the joys we give multiplied and returned to us,” McDonald said.

The tour concluded with its last performance at Linfield in the Ice Auditorium on April 4.

The performance opened with a showing of a video made by Jeremy Moll that documented the eight days the choir spent on tour. It chronicled the choir’s activities and performances, and  it depicted the contagious joy and positive energy of the members of the choir and the people they came in contact with.

When reflecting on the tour, McDonald said, “My favorite part of choir tour was the opportunity to form deeper connections with my peers who I may not have known as well prior to tour.”

“Although it is a choir tour, it is much more than just about singing,” Song said. “The purpose of the annual trip is to transform the world around us with the beauty of music and to be transformed through the music and through all those we encounter along the way.”

____________________________________________________________________________________________
Sam Nixon/Staff writer
Sam Nixon can be reached at linfieldreviewculture@gmail.com.

Surround sound choirs awe audiences

Posted by :jprokop On : May 21, 2010
0

Category: Culture

Tags:, ,

Linfield Concert Choir

Linfield Concert Choir Megan Myer/Online Editor

Ice Auditorium echoed with the music and lyrics of the Linfield College Men’s Glee Club, Women’s Vocal Ensemble and Concert Choir at the Spring Choral Concert on May 16.
The Men’s Glee Club opened the event with an Irish-American folk song titled “Fillimiooriay.” The group incorporated dance moves into the piece. They sang a total of four songs, and the last one was performed with the Women’s Vocal Ensemble.
The Women’s Vocal Ensemble, in addition to the shared song, also sang four songs. The shared song featured solos from the women’s ensemble.
“It wasn’t bad because I’ve sung in front of larger crowds, but the fact that it was my first time singing at Linfield made me a little bit more nervous,” freshman soloist Brittany Baker said. “Otherwise, though, the song was pretty fun, so I tried to perform it and interpret it the best I could.”
The Women’s Vocal Ensemble sang two classical pieces and the final song, “Shiru,” was sung in Hebrew.
After the group was finished, the Linfield College Concert Choir took the stage.
The Concert Choir began its part of the show by spreading out on the stage, in front of the stage and in the audience on the second floor. The staging created a musical experience that surrounded the audience from all sides.
Freshman Mariah Vander Shaaf, a soprano in the Linfield College Concert Choir, said the choir practiced for a considerable amount of time on all their songs.
“We’ve been practicing since we got back from spring break,” she said. “It’s really fun. We’ve all gotten really close with each other, but it’s been really hard work. We meet three times a week for an hour, and then we have sectionals once a week for about 30 minutes.”
While hard work and practice helped the choir, its director was an essential component.
“Anna Song [assistant professor of music and choral director] makes sure everything is perfect. So running through things again and again is something that took a while to get used to,” Vander Shaaf said.
One audience member commented on how well she thought the performance went.
“I thought it was really well done — especially the Concert Choir’s pieces, freshman Anna Statz said. “‘Dubula’ and ‘The Storm is Passing Over’ were really incredible. I’m sad I didn’t make it to more concerts.”
Diantha Beckham
Freelancer
Diantha Beckham can be reached at linfieldreviewculture@gmail.com