Concert Choir and Chamber Orchestra Head to California for Concert Tour
March 7, 2008
Concert Choir and Chamber Orchestra. Photo: Tony Rinaldo.
The Concert Choir and Chamber Orchestra are joining forces for a collaborative concert tour this spring vacation, traveling from Los Angeles to San Francisco. This is the first time the choir has been joined by the orchestra on tour. The 32-voice Concert Choir, under the direction of Ryan Turner, will perform works by Morten Lauridsen, Gwyneth Walker, Gerald Finzi, Eric Whitacre, György Orbán, Bob Chilcott and William Dawson. The Chamber Orchestra, led by Peter Schultz, will present The Overture to Iphigenia in Aulis by Christoph Willibald Gluck and the Claude Debussy Petite Suite. The two ensembles will join forces for the Franz Josef Haydn Te Deum. They'll perform in professional concert venues, like the 415-seat Herbert Zipper Concert Hall at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, as well as in schools and churches.
Excitement among the 50 students is rampant. "I love all the pieces we're doing this term, but my favorite is, 'A Boy and A Girl,' by Eric Whitacre," says Ilana, an upper. "It's so rewarding to sing because we have worked incredibly hard on all of the close harmonies and dissonance that make the piece unique and exciting to listen to," she says. "The notes just combine to sound like lovely, yet typical chords. Whitacre creates texture – a third dimension – in the music by adding just the right notes to make beautiful dissonance."
Conor, a senior, feels a "special attachment to Whitacre's style of composing." He first encountered Whitacre's music last year. "We sang 'Go Lovely Rose' with Fidelio, Andover's concert choir, and the experience has stayed with me ever since," he explains. "Whitacre actively resists resolving chords until the very end of the piece. I listen to the song for hours on end and I never tire of it. There's so much emotion in his music." Conor feels that Mr. Turner's conducting "is perfect for a piece like this because he is so demonstrative about the emotion he tries to extract from our voices."
Cayla, violinist, relishes the fun she has playing the Haydn Te Deum. "The piece is very spiritual for me as I find meaning in the Latin translations of the lyrics. Violinists are divas – they get the best parts and play the hardest notes. The eighth-note runs we fly through in the Haydn are great."
The last time Exonians toured in concert was March 2004 (see story from The Exeter Bulletin, Winter 2004), making this year's trip a first for all performers. Conor summarizes the excitement: "For someone whose most high-profile concert before Exeter was in his own shower, this trip seems like a Christmas present!" He's looking forward to singing "O, My Luve's Like a Red, Red Rose." "The chords are simple, and the romantic nature of the song shines through like a beam of sunshine," he says. "The exchanges between the women's and men's parts add an energetic dynamic to an already captivating song. Most importantly, there's one chord towards the end when the men split into four parts...it's a foolproof method for getting goose bumps."
For Turner, this trip is a welcome opportunity to expose students to the rigors and joys of performing. "Bringing students together like this and performing concerts day after day has a galvanizing effect on their sense of music making," he says. "The students will be stronger musicians. It will be exciting for me to see what they do in spring term."
"The trip will definitely pump up our enthusiasm for music," adds Ilana. "We all love what we do so much. I think our excitement about being on tour and experimenting in different venues will show through in our music. We'll learn how to adjust to new acoustic settings and experience the importance of maintaining energy for all performances."
The Exonians will perform an educational outreach concert at the Vena Avenue Elementary School, in the Los Angeles Unified school district. "I am excited about the educational outreach concert," says Ilana. "I think the kids will really enjoy our concert, and hopefully we'll get to hang with them a bit and talk about music and why it's important." For Cayla, a senior, the outreach concert is "an experience I hope will give me more of a sense of purpose in my playing. Rather than just playing for myself, I'll be playing to inspire these kids to achieve their goals."
The tour schedule was compiled by Turner, who worked closely with Exeter alumni/ae and others. During a fast-paced trip to California in February, Turner inspected the performance venues and hotels.
Ty Tingley, Academy principal, will attend the final performance in San Francisco.
The students are looking forward to some of California's less esoteric pleasures too. "Disneyland will be fun, and I think we'll be biking across the Golden Gate Bridge, but I'm just looking forward to sharing this experience with my friends," says Conor. "It will be nice to just get to know each other more, outside of the normal Exeter setting," explains Ilana. "We all share this passion for making music, and the tour invites us to make beautiful music together in famous places where the weather is 75 and sunny! What more could we ask for?"
While on tour, students will be accompanied by Turner, Schultz, LaShonda Long (English instructor), Veda Robinson (dean of multicultural affairs), Tiffany Trotter (history instructor) and Jennifer Vasquez (intern, dean of students office). The trip is supported by donations from generous alumni/ae.
Interested in learning more?
Read the concert performance schedule…
Check out Exeter's music offerings…
