The Washington College String Orchestra and Chorus concert was held in Hotchkiss Recital Hall at 7:30 on Wednesday, April 19. The concert was directed by Ernie Green, chorus director and Dr. Kimberly McCollum, orchestra.

The concert opened with the chorus filing in to surround the audience in the aisles. They sang “Bonse Aba,” a traditional Zambian song. The acoustics of the hall amplified the voices to make the chorus sound much larger and enveloped the audience in sound and incorporating them into the performance. The chorus was divided into two groups with the senior chorus members taking the lead.

The chorus remained divided for the next piece “The Spheres,” which is the Kyrie from Sunrise Mass by Ola Gjeilo. The melody was divided between the two choruses, sometimes even switching in the middle of words. As the lead switched from one chorus to the other, the two groups overlapped with completely different chords and created an ethereal effect. This is meant to represent the passing of the planets.

Next the orchestra performed Mozart’s Minuet from String Quartet No. 2 in D Major. The piece was written when Mozart was seventeen. It was both elegant and highly ornamental with the same motif originated with the violins and imitated in different voices by the violas and the cello.

Shostakovich’s Waltz No. 2 followed the minuet. While elegant and stately, this piece was also sly and coy. Shostakovich seems to be subverting the aristocracy and the communist government under which he composed. The orchestra’s final piece was a lively arrangement of Eleanor Rigby by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, arranged by Austin Ralphson. The melody switched off between different voices, with a brooding undertone carried throughout by the bass.

Next the chorus sang their featured pieces from popular music. “Tuxedo Junction” was originally a jazz piece by Erskine Hawkins, arranged for chorus by Paul Jennings. The chorus imitated the brass and trombone sections with a soloist for the verses. The piece was technically very good but lacked a bit of the spontaneous energy that characterizes jazz.

“When I Fall in Love Victor Young” by Mark Brymer was made famous in Sleepless in Seattle and was a familiar tune for much of the audience. The ladies of the chorus sang a very sweet rendition of the piece. Next was an arrangement of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical Carousel. Erin Coffman sang the original arrangement for comparison.

The final piece was a collaborative effort between the orchestra and the chorus. They performed “My Shot” form the hit contemporary musical Hamilton. The musical chronicles America's founding and effectively utilizes hip hop and text in a revolutionary way. Four soloists performed the raps with enthusiastic accompaniment by the chorus and strings.

Overall, this year’s spring orchestra and chorus concert was quite enjoyable. It contained a variety of traditional, classical, and contemporary pieces and displayed the talent of Washington College string players and vocalists quite beautifully.