St. Catherine University Choir’s autumnal concert
By Bronwyn Kmiecik
After several months of rehearsal, the St. Catherine University Choir performed their autumnal concert "The Triune Nature" on Friday, Nov. 6. The music was a carefully curated mix of bittersweet melodies and celebrations of hope, highlighting the breadth of human experience and performed in several languages. The title “The Triune Nature” was chosen in reference to both the Holy Trinity and holistic living. The concert was split into three sections, one for body, one for mind and one for spirit. Each section consisted of two choir pieces, with solo pieces performed for the body and mind sections.
The concert began with the focus around “body.” The choir sang “Yo Le Canto todo el Día” by David Brunner and “TaReKiTa” by Reena Esmail. “Brunner's text correlates love with singing and playing a drum, and this is reflected in the music's infectious rhythms and hand clapping from the choir. ‘TaReKiTa’ is based on sounds the Indian drum makes, called bols, they are onomatopoeic sounds that imitate the sound of the drum. Though not featured in the performance, the work can also be paired with hand gestures called Mudra from the Indian classical dance tradition, called Bharatanatyam. Both of these pieces represent the idea of the "body" being experienced through movement,” said Dr. Dane Carten, the conductor for the University Choir, who holds a doctorate in choral conducting. The body section of the performance was concluded with a solo performance of “Unethical” by Faouzia, sung by Veronique Kolibe-Gnamikou.
The middle section of the concert focused on “mind,” and at this point the tempo of the music slowed down. “I had a hard time deciding exactly what angle to take to fulfill this section of my chosen concept. Mind as a concept varies depending on what philosophy you choose to view it from. I looked at the mind as more logic-based, i.e how do we handle hard decisions in life?” Carten explained. The songs became much more introspective, with the choir performing “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac and arranged by Ed Lojeski, as well as Sara Quartel’s “Be Like the Bird.” Karma Mecey-Hill performed a solo piece of "The Chain,” also by Fleetwood Mac. All three songs have much more somber tones than the pieces in the first section of the concert, but the closing piece of the section, “Be Like the Bird,” contained much more hopeful and free undertones.
The concert ended with the section focused on “spirit,” featuring two pieces, both performed by the choir, with very different tones. The first song, “Maria Magdalena et Alterra Maria” by Sulpitia Lodovica Cesis, continued the slow, thoughtful tone of the previous section. However, the final song of the concert, “Glory, Glory! (I Feel Better),” arranged by Adam and Matt Podd, picked up the tempo for an upbeat finale. “The overall message of the piece is to celebrate your victories, no matter how small. Spirituals are another highly important genre of choral music that ought to be programmed and learned about, and the Podd brothers' arrangements are respectful of their source material. Adam and Matt donate royalties from the sales of their works to various non-profit organizations which support Black musical arts and artists, as well,” Carten said, explaining the significance of the final piece and why it was chosen to end the concert.
The University Choir still has two more performances this semester, one at the Feast of St. Catherine and one for the holidays. Students are welcome to come to both upcoming performances, and the choir is still welcoming any new singers who are interested and available.
