In between songs at the annual fall choir concert, conductor C. Michael Porter rode his bike through the greenbelt around Boise watching the leaves change colors and fall to the ground as he thought about what songs best represented the changing of seasons.
The songs he decided on were performed Sunday, Oct. 21 when the Boise State Department of Music presented “A Fall Choral Collage”, a performance by three different choir groups at Boise State.
The night began with a performance by Vox Angelis, the audition-only, all-female choir.
“Before the concert, I was nervous,” said Libby Stewart, freshman biology major who sang with Vox Angelis. “Afterward I was really pleased with the performance. It was fun to listen to the other choirs.”
Vox Angelis sang a wide variety of music, from their opener, Johann Michael Haydn’s “Dixit Dominus”, to their closer, the British Columbia Folk Song “Savory, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme”.
“I was excited to get to sing and have fun, but I’m relieved it’s over,” said Aryssa Hutchinson, freshman music education major who sang with Vox Angelis. “My favorite song that we sang was Te Quiero. It’s pretty and I connect with it. It’s got that whole forlorn love thing going on.”
Vox Angelis were followed by University Singers, which featured 37 men and women of all different ages.
“It came together well, I’ve never heard the other choirs before so that was fun,” said Sandy Walker, a freshman communications major who sang soprano with University Singers and had a solo in one of the pieces. “My favorite was Yo m’enamori d’un aire; it was really fun to sing.”
After a short intermission, Meistersingers took the stage and sang what Porter described as a “study of harmony”: three songs showcasing numerous vocal harmonies.
Meistersingers closed the show with a rousing performance of “There is Sweet Music Here Song of the Laughing Wood”, featuring music professor Dr. Jeanne Belfy on the oboe.
The next choral concert will be the “Family Holiday Concert” on Dec. 4 at the Morrison Center.
