The Lafayette Choir had their Winter Concert on December 5, in the Beeler Auditorium. This concert showcased four of the six Lafayette choirs, the Treble and Advanced Treble choirs, the Troubadours and the Madrigals. This is the concert where many people begin to see improvement from the fall and winter. In just two short months since the Fall Informance concert, many huge improvements have been made.
The concert began with a combined song, sung by the Treble, Advanced Treble choirs, and Troubadours titled “This Christmas” written by Donny Hathaway. This song showcased soloists Kayden Gentry and Carson Burton, along with MaddieRae Wells playing the bass and Simeon Beeken on percussion.
Next, the Treble choir performed “Christmas Time is Here” written by Vince Guaraldi and Lee Mendelson, which was followed by “Up on the Housetop,” a traditional carol. This song featured soloists Kelli Johnson and Miranda Soto Martinez. The last song they sang was “Jolly Old St. Nicholas,” a traditional carol which featured soloists Allie Vickers, Zoey Groves, Andrea Sadnha, and HaiWen Shi.
The next choir to sing was the Troubadours, with their first song “African Noel” written by Jerry Frazier and featuring percussionists Simeon Beeken and Elijah Hall. After that was “Stars Shall I Find” written by Victor C. Johnson and “Oh! Christmas Tree???” written by Carl J. Nygard Jr. and sung by a small ensemble featuring Jay Hicks, Ari Kemcha, Kayden Gentry, Jacob Porter, Carter Stiff, Charlie Kennedy and Tristan Bayer. The choir ended with “Now is the Cool of the Day” written by Jean Ritchie, featuring soloists Ari Kemcha and Jacob Porter, as well as guitarist Charlie Kennedy and MaddieRae Wells on bass.
The third choir to sing was the Advanced Treble choir, starting with “Winter’s Night” written by Frode Fjellheim featuring Mallory Grimm on the saxophone. The second song they sang was “Carol of the Bells” written by Peter J. Wilhousky. The final song sung was “Keep on Following the Star” written by Greg Gilpin featuring soloists Megan Haubenreich and Rachael Ellison.
The final choir to sing was the Madrigals, beginning with “Welcome Christmas” written by Albert Hague. The next song they sang was “We Three Kings” written by Darmon Meader featuring Natalie Langdorf on the tambourine. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” came third, written by Jay Althouse featuring soloists Broady Mancuso and Ella Sewell. The next two that followed were “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” written by Kirby Shaw, “Jingle Bells”, a traditional carol. The final song sung at the concert was “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” a traditional carol.
This concert was a huge success and showed a huge amount of improvement in these choirs. The Times talked to Laura Howard, the director of the Lafayette Treble and Advance Treble choirs and she stated, “I see a ton of improvement between the fall and now in all the groups, I think there’s lots more blending and just listening to each other and figuring out how to make things work as a team.” The Lafayette choirs were so impressive this semester! We can’t wait to see what they are working on for next semester!
