Music festival features student ensembles, returning alumni

Photo+courtesy+Calvin.edu.

Photo courtesy Calvin.edu.

The CFAC auditorium hosted the 72nd Calvin Music Festival on Friday evening, Oct. 20. In total, 277 students were a part of the festival, not including faculty members and guest performers.

The jazz band opened the concert with “Late In The Quarter,” a tune that took audience members to the streets of New Orleans. After a welcoming and prayer from President Le Roy, the jazz band finished their set with the energetic and hard-swingin’ tune, “This I Dig of You,” which featured many student soloists.

The night’s performances included a Women’s Chorale rendition of the old Irish folk song “Carrickfergus” conducted by professor Pearl Shangkuan and arranged by Calvin’s own Sean Ivory, with a violin solo from junior Elise Greidanus. Women’s Chorale contrasted this piece with the energetic African-American spiritual “Music Down In My Soul.”

Campus Choir, directed by Sean Ivory, displayed their versatility between the reflective piece “No Time” and the South African song “Vela Vela.”

The performance of “Tunbridge Fair” by the Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Tiffany Engle, allowed the audience to join the band on a dynamic story; from the winding turns of the lyrical melody line through the energetic jazz-like rhythms. Calvin alumna Meredy Brichford returned to play the first movement of Keith Gates’ Concertino for Solo Flute and Wind Ensemble.

“Getting to perform ‘A Mighty Fortress’ in orchestra with all the choirs was amazing,” said Jacklyn Vander Zee, a junior wind ensemble and orchestra member. “I almost started crying when the audience joined in singing. It was amazing to worship our Lord with so many people.”

Interspersed throughout the night were many heartfelt solo performances from current and former students including: Andrew VanZytveld (junior), Kendra Walters (senior), Mary Shin (senior), Sarah SungKyung Shin (sophomore), the Númenor String Quartet, Ashley Meyers (senior), Jonathan Ten Brink (alumnus) and Nathanael Kazmierczak (senior).

One moment from the night engaged the audience with the performers on stage was during gospel choir’s performance. The gospel choir, with over 60 student members, brought a great amount of energy that ideally made one want to get up and dance, though the space in the auditorium is not as forgiving.

During one of their pieces, the director, Nate Glasper Jr., turned to the audience and encouraged them to clap along with the choir. The confidence and energy of featured soloist Adrienne Coachman also helped keep the momentum of the song going as the audience joined in. The room was filled with clapping, as well as occasional feet tapping and rhythmic swaying.

Under Shangkuan’s direction, Capella sang the reflective, movie soundtrack-esque piece “Dark Night of the Soul,” followed by “Do Not Be Afraid.” These pieces done in succession likely brought many mixed emotions to audience members. Capella ended their set with the comical and off-beat song “Ner, Ner.”

“I got to see the Calvin Music Festival from three different lenses this year; orchestra, cappella and even women’s chorale as a fiddle soloist,” said Elise Greidanus, a junior capella and orchestra member. “The teamwork within and among different groups is empowering, and I am thankful for a thriving music scene at Calvin College.”

The night ended with all the choir members and orchestra coming together to sing Dan Forrest’s arrangement of “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.” Following along with the text and music in the program, the audience members were able to join in on the 2nd and 4th stanzas.  

“I loved the huge variety of performances at the festival,” said alumna Bethany Cok ‘16. “It’s really cool to see how many students at Calvin participate in it and value music as an important part of their lives. It’s also a really cool experience for the audience to be able to share in that.”