Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Performance at Tufts University!


Guest Writer: Casey Accardi

As soon as I took a first look at the piece, “O Daedalus, Fly Away Home” composed by Trevor Weston, I knew that we were in for a real treat. The Premier Choir of BCC was invited to sing the children’s chorus part of this masterpiece, along with the Tufts University Chamber Choir singing the adult parts, conducted by Andrew Clark. We began rehearsals at once, improving each time we ran a section. The energy within the choir built as we realized just how thrilling of a piece “O Daedalus” was. As the few short weeks passed, it became time for us to finally rehearse with the Tufts Chamber Singers, (who are truly magnificent!) and get the piece up and running. “O Daedalus” tells the story of slaves trying to escape back to Africa by using a beautiful poem written by Robert Hayden. Trevor Weston explained to us the story behind the song and inspired us to perform to a different level as we became aware of what we were singing about.

The day of the performance, there was a flurry of energy within the choir as we prepared to take the stage. We would be performing at the Granoff Music Center at the Tufts University campus. The moment we entered the space, it was clear that it was no ordinary concert hall. It managed to incorporate tremendous acoustics as well a very sleek and classy design. We had the opportunity to not only perform “O Daedalus” but also selections from our own repertoire. We got into formation on stage and began to practice. The moment we began singing, a wonderful energy whizzed through the choir as we realized that the Hall was one in which our sound felt controlled but explosive, a great feeling.

Quickly, it became time for us to take to the stage and perform our individual set. We began with the engaging piece, “Aint-a That Good News” which was such fun to perform in the space because our sound bounced off the walls, giving us the perfect tone. We then did “Lift Thine Eyes” and “We are…”, both old favorites of ours. At last we transitioned into positions to perform my personal favorite “Eternity”, an eight part piece designed to bring back memories to the minds of the audience.

We were then joined by the Tufts Singers on stage as we got ready to perform the piece of the night. We got of to a great start sailed through all the troubling parts of the song. The sounds of the two choirs collaborating was enormous and thrilling to be apart of. At the end of the piece, the audience erupted into applause, and one could tell by the look on the faces of the composer and conductor that it had been a great success. It was fulfilling to be apart of and left us all with a feeling of pride, not to mention, we had a great deal of fun putting the remarkable piece together!