The melodic voices of the City College Chambers Singers and Jazz Choir had everyone in the Fe Bland auditorium tapping their feet and clapping their hands for an encore Saturday night. The show started promptly at 7 p.m. and was packed with viewers leaning and sitting up against the walls to await the much anticipated Chamber Singers and Jazz Choir.
The Chamber singers, led by Nathan Kreitzer, began the concert off with a slow, but complex piece called “Water Night.” This song particularly showed the strength of the soprano section that was not shy at all to belt out those high Mariah Carrey notes. Pieces called “Sleep” and “Go lovely Rose” also showed the strength of the Soprano sections.
Soloist Anna Coleman, did an excellent job on her solos; her voice could be easily compared to that of Charlotte Church. The alto, tenor, and bass sections really showed their vocal strengths in “Hope, Faith, Life, Love,” which was a song that was sung in a lower key.
All of the songs the Chamber Singers sang were the music of Eric Whitacre who is a favorite of director Kreitzer.
The group was synchronized and on key as they sang songs in their acapella performance. The Chambers singers followed the dynamics well in each piece and overall had a nice blend.
After a brief intermission, the Jazz band set up on stage quickly to prepare for the Jazz Choir. The Jazz Choir, led by Isaac Jenkins, lit up the room with their different vibrant colored shirts. The choir began with a song titled “The Nearness of You” which was my personal favorite. “I need the soft light to enchant me,” the choir sang in an upbeat tune to the beat of the drums and the bass which was so eloquently played by Clint Jones.
While listening through other songs like “Wake up” and “Tangerine,” one could forget that this was the City College Jazz Choir and not Duke Ellington’s Big Band. The choir was animated and harmonic as they sang each number and had a potent sound that one could hear even after closing the doors and walking down the halls of the Forum. The Jazz Choir really showed their talent in their first performance at City College.
The spring performance from the Chamber Singers and Jazz Choir was refreshing, pleasant and definitely a treat for those who missed out. While listening to the Jazz Choir, one can forget that the soprano section merely consists of students and not the talents of Billie Holiday and Lena Horne. The altos too, could easily be mistaken for Etta James or even Dinah Washington. They sounded just that good.
Even for those who are not fans of “golden age” choral music or jazz, listeners could have still been satisfied with seeing a positive event taking place on a Saturday evening. The concert was definitely a way to end Cinco de Mayo with melodic bang.