Okay, I admit it. I'm a choir geek. I got hooked on choral singing in high school. My choir director Mr. Nall helped me discover that I really liked singing and was better than average at it. I sang in choirs throughout my 5(!) years of college and in a community choir after college. I've had wonderfully rich and memorable singing experiences at the annual state music educator's convention held at Tan-Tar-A Resort near the Lake Of The Ozarks and even did two in-state tours while in college.
Today my inner choir geek was mightily indulged. The local barbershop chorus Ambassadors of Harmony and the world-renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir both performed in St. Louis on the same day! I took in the AOH's matinee performance and the MTC's evening concert.
This time of year is always international competition season for AOH and they appeared ready to take on all comers. They performed many old favorites and the two numbers they've prepared for competition. AOH's show must really be seen (and heard) to be believed. Costumes, choreography, sight gags, I could go on... Their special guests this year were Vocal FX, a male barbershop chorus from New Zealand who will be competing along with AOH. The group is all young males but directed by a female and they were fantastic. They performed 4 traditional barbershop numbers and should do well in competition. The audience was treated to a tasty dose of New Zealand culture, as the group also performed 3 numbers in the native Maori dialect and 4 members dressed in traditional Maori warrior garb (i.e. nothing but skirts made of dried (something which I can't remember!)). It was fascinating.
The evening Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert was immensely satisfying, as I expected it would be. Their 175 recordings and appearances all over the world testify to their legacy. The only real bummer was that they had to perform in cavernous Scottrade Center, normally a hockey arena. True, it was probably the only venue in the area large enough to hold them but I'd have preferred a more intimate venue. They'd not been to St. Louis since 1958 and who knows when they'll be back, so I am glad I attended. The concert was a muscal smorgasbord of classical masterworks and traditional American folk music and hymns.
Oh, and did I mention that The Man Himself John Ashcroft guest-conducted the encore? He did. Ashcroft--the former U.S. Attorney General, senator and governor of Missouri--led the choir and orchestra through a rousing "This Land Is Your Land," to the delight of the audience.
It was an interesting end to a great night of singing.
5 comments:
wow, just bit of music overload there john? I bet you would say not. Sounds like a sublime day the likes of which will be a long time coming again. it's nice to indulge yourself occasionally.
Kia ora. Thanks for your comments - my son is in Vocal FX and I think they are great. Glad to hear you enjoyed them too. They were so excited to have to opportunity to sing at the AOH concert. Good luck to them in Anaheim.
Kia ora to you. Your son and his pals acquitted themselves very well. The crowd was wildly receptive to their performance.
I love choirs..I recently went to join Sweet Adelaides...a barbershop choir (are women's called barbershop) but was unprepared to do the amount of work required for it...it takes over your life...but I LOVE watching them...
I imagine it's the same with the AOH guys...it's a HUGE time commitment but they absolutely live for the shows and the competitions....they've done several interational tours, as well.
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