This past Wednesday, Soul Voices, directed by Jazz Studies assistant professor Pete Malinverni held their Spring concert in the Recital Hall of the Music Building.
As I walked into the hall, I was surprised by its size and beauty. I had only previously been in the choral hall directly across, and so it was certainly not what I was expecting. From the top of the raked audience, you could see a stage at floor level, framed by two short lighting trees, and dotted with choir risers. The greeters were genuinely friendly as I took my seat and settled in.
About five minutes before the scheduled start time, President Schwartz walked in a sat directly in front of me. At first I assumed this kind of pressure would make me uncomfortable during the show. This is always a problem I encounter at school or amateur performances as well, when you know that there are parents surrounding you who will notice every slight grimace you make when someone sings off-key. I know my grimacing is not great theater etiquette, and that’s my own downfall, but I’m an imperfect person. Schwartz’s presence, however, proved not to be an issue, as there was not an off note all night. The concert began right on time, much to my pleasure. …show more content…
Malinverni walked out on stage and welcomed the crowd. He announced that the night would be opened by Purchase College’s student run acapella group, Choral Pleasure. I was incredibly excited for the group to perform, but also mildly annoyed that I didn’t know the school had an acapella group. Acapella groups have been close to my heart ever since I founded the glee club in my middle school and found my spirit animal in “Fat Amy” from Pitch Perfect.
The group performed two numbers, both prominently featuring soloists. After spending about three minutes trying to situate the microphones, the group leader, Annie McLean stepped forward to introduce the group. The delay, however, was more comical than annoying, and the entire group remained cheerful.
The first soloist had the most pure, melodic voice I have ever heard. She struggled with the tempo a bit in the beginning, jumping the beat a few times, but the group followed her lead flawlessly, and if I hadn’t known the song so well, I may not have even noticed.
I recognize I may also have been a bit bias to this soloist. My best friend in the world, who actually lived with my family for quite some time, uses hand gestures that were remarkably similar to those that this soloist used. The second soloist, in comparison, had a raspy voice infused with many popisms. It was equally as beautiful, and a wonderful contrast to the first number. I was a little disappointed that the numbers they chose featured only these two talented singers, instead of incorporating several soloists for some more variety. I feel that this would have been a much more effective way to showcase their group. There were also many of discrepancies in the audio mix. Only the soloists used a hand held microphone while the others relied on the areas microphones, which picked up nothing. For a while, it seemed like the sound guy was intently focused on his work. I initially thought he was using an audio mixing app on his cell phone, however, unless Facebook has recently updated to include these capabilities, it turns out what he was intently focused on was not his work. After Choral Pleasure finished their performance, Soul Voices began to take their place on the risers. I was immediately confused by their attire. Now, I am a huge proponent for casual concert attire if it fits the group, however, this group wasn’t quite sure if they were casual or not. There was, honest to God, a man wearing a full three piece suit, pocket hanky and everything, directly next to a man wearing sneakers, jeans, and a sweatshirt. One woman even brought a backpack on stage with her. Their set began with the African American National Anthem, beautifully led by a junior opera major. It set the tone for the entire performance, and was a wonderful way to open. Their songs were a beautiful mixture of late 20th century jazz
As I walked into the hall, I was surprised by its size and beauty. I had only previously been in the choral hall directly across, and so it was certainly not what I was expecting. From the top of the raked audience, you could see a stage at floor level, framed by two short lighting trees, and dotted with choir risers. The greeters were genuinely friendly as I took my seat and settled in.
About five minutes before the scheduled start time, President Schwartz walked in a sat directly in front of me. At first I assumed this kind of pressure would make me uncomfortable during the show. This is always a problem I encounter at school or amateur performances as well, when you know that there are parents surrounding you who will notice every slight grimace you make when someone sings off-key. I know my grimacing is not great theater etiquette, and that’s my own downfall, but I’m an imperfect person. Schwartz’s presence, however, proved not to be an issue, as there was not an off note all night. The concert began right on time, much to my pleasure. …show more content…
Malinverni walked out on stage and welcomed the crowd. He announced that the night would be opened by Purchase College’s student run acapella group, Choral Pleasure. I was incredibly excited for the group to perform, but also mildly annoyed that I didn’t know the school had an acapella group. Acapella groups have been close to my heart ever since I founded the glee club in my middle school and found my spirit animal in “Fat Amy” from Pitch Perfect.
The group performed two numbers, both prominently featuring soloists. After spending about three minutes trying to situate the microphones, the group leader, Annie McLean stepped forward to introduce the group. The delay, however, was more comical than annoying, and the entire group remained cheerful.
The first soloist had the most pure, melodic voice I have ever heard. She struggled with the tempo a bit in the beginning, jumping the beat a few times, but the group followed her lead flawlessly, and if I hadn’t known the song so well, I may not have even noticed.
I recognize I may also have been a bit bias to this soloist. My best friend in the world, who actually lived with my family for quite some time, uses hand gestures that were remarkably similar to those that this soloist used. The second soloist, in comparison, had a raspy voice infused with many popisms. It was equally as beautiful, and a wonderful contrast to the first number. I was a little disappointed that the numbers they chose featured only these two talented singers, instead of incorporating several soloists for some more variety. I feel that this would have been a much more effective way to showcase their group. There were also many of discrepancies in the audio mix. Only the soloists used a hand held microphone while the others relied on the areas microphones, which picked up nothing. For a while, it seemed like the sound guy was intently focused on his work. I initially thought he was using an audio mixing app on his cell phone, however, unless Facebook has recently updated to include these capabilities, it turns out what he was intently focused on was not his work. After Choral Pleasure finished their performance, Soul Voices began to take their place on the risers. I was immediately confused by their attire. Now, I am a huge proponent for casual concert attire if it fits the group, however, this group wasn’t quite sure if they were casual or not. There was, honest to God, a man wearing a full three piece suit, pocket hanky and everything, directly next to a man wearing sneakers, jeans, and a sweatshirt. One woman even brought a backpack on stage with her. Their set began with the African American National Anthem, beautifully led by a junior opera major. It set the tone for the entire performance, and was a wonderful way to open. Their songs were a beautiful mixture of late 20th century jazz