FMU Concert Choir, Cut Time perform

The FMU Concert Choir and Cut Time show choir performed a selection of songs together themed “We Will Survive” for the end of semester concert.

The concert took place on Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

Sue Orr, the director of Cut Time show choir and FMU Concert Choir, said this semester there were a limited number of students taking part in the two choirs, and to allow for the students to learn a smaller selection of songs, she combined the programs.

The FMU Concert Choir started the performance off with a piece by Jay Althouse entitled “A Festive Gloria.”

Other pieces included the Shaker hymn, “Simple Gifts,” arranged by Aaron Copland and “The Music in You” by Joseph M. Martin.

Local musician Ann Rodgers Chandler played the piano accompaniment for the university Concert Choir’s performance. Daniel Evans and Michael Reeves, two choir members, played the drums and the tambourine during select songs of the performance.

The FMU Concert Choir ended their section of the performance with the song “Only When I Reach,” written by K.C. Blekicki and C.J. Nygard. Jr.

“We picked the theme ‘We Will Survive’ because we were going to close our program with, ‘I Will Survive,’” Orr said. “Since no guys auditioned, [the show choir] wanted to send the message that they were a good group and could survive without them.”

Senior biology major Jasmyne Brown-Bellinger said that the “We Will Survive” theme was important to her because there were many hurdles the show choir had to overcome to perform.

The Cut Time show choir performed pieces including, “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” arranged by Mark Brymer and “Stop! In The Name of Love,” by Lamont Dozier.

The performance ended with the theme song, “I Will Survive,” by Dino Fekaris. Christina Anderson performed a solo during the last song.

Bellinger and Justice Slater, sophomore sociology major, worked together to choreograph the Cut Time show choir’s dances.

“Choreographing the dances wasn’t hard at all; however, it took a lot of time and dedication from my best friend and me, but we made it through,” Slater said. “The main obstacles were trying to get everyone to stay in sync with each other. Some have more difficulty learning steps than others, but we just focused on making it look uniform.”

Students joined the choirs from various backgrounds and for various reasons.

Senior music industry major Daniel Evans joined the university choir to fill a major requirement, but he learned a new genre of music through this experience.

“I had heard choirs my whole life in church, and my mother led several during my childhood, so I was around when they practiced and performed,” Evans said. “Being part of a choir was a huge shift for me, however. Since I was mainly a guitarist, I had to learn to be even more comfortable with my voice than in the music I typically sing. There’s no loud amplifiers or drum set to hide behind. It was a scary experience initially in all honesty.”

Freshman pre-nursing major Kirstin Capili performed in both the university Concert Choir and Cut Time show choir.

“I have never been in a show choir before, and Cut Time requires singing along with dancing,” Capili said. “So it was very different from the average chorus. I really enjoyed my experience in Cut Time.”

According to Orr, the Concert Choir and Cut Time were created approximately 30 years ago.

Orr said the Concert Choir had been discontinued due to lack of interest and small enrollment, but she restarted the choir under her directing.

“There were students in the choir who wanted to form a small group to perform a lighter style of music, so I formed the show choir,” Orr said. “This gives choral students opportunities to perform both the classical choral music of a concert choir and more popular music so they can sing and dance.”

The next Cut Time and Concert Choir performance will be in the spring semester.