Pictured is Cleveland State's Chamber Choir and Vocal Rhapsody performing "Omnia Sol" at the Tri-State Choral Festival on March 24.
The Chamber Choir and Vocal Rhapsody Ensemble of Cleveland State Community College will present their annual spring concert on Thursday, May 4 at 7 p.m. in the George R. Johnson Cultural Heritage Center. The celebration with begin with a whimsical tribute to Star Wars, with instrumental music by the Lantigua family and musical parodies by the choirs.
William Dickinson, a graduating Mass Communications Major, who will be transferring to MTSU in the fall where he will also minor in Musical Theatre, will serve as the Master of Ceremonies for the evening, while sharing “bits” of Broadway musicals throughout the program, including selections from Beauty and the Beast, The Phantom of the Opera and Little Shop of Horrors.
The choirs will present several sacred selections including Rutter’s “For the Beauty of the Earth” (again, in celebration of spring), “The Lord is My Shepherd,” a jazz arrangement of the calypso style “Shut de do,” and two spirituals, “Ride on Jesus” and “In Bright Mansions Above” arranged by Dr. Roland Carter, who directed the choirs when they performed at the Tri-State Choral Festival in March with a 150+ voice choir from six colleges.
Vocal Rhapsody will sing Pentonix “Run to You,” followed by several songs from the 1950’s and 1960’s. The president, Dr. Bill Seymour, might even take to the stage with a small ensemble to sing a Barbershop arrangement of “Happy Together,” which was at the top of the charts in 1967, when the college was founded. A river theme will follow, including “Old Man River,”(soloist, Andrew Markham) “Down by the Riverside” arranged by Moses Hogan, “Sittin’ On the Dock of the Bay” (Soloist, Zane Smith) and “Come Sail Away” will be performed. The later will feature biology professor, Penni Jo Wilson as soloist, and will be accompanied by Amy Smitty (Piano), Nacor Lantigua (percussion) and Karen Dale (flute.) Graduating sophomore Katie Shackleford will sing “Taylor the Latte Boy.” A set of arias and art songs will then be presented, including the “Flower Duet” from Lakme sung by adjunct voice instructor Tricia Logsdon and student, Sandy Stewart.
The choral students who are graduating from Cleveland State on May 6, Caroline Alexander, Rachel Beaver, William Dickinson, Tony Hernandez, Megan Kalb, Emily Phillips, Brianna Riley, Maddie Scoggins, Katie Sackleford and Hunter Torbett (plus Andrew Markham, who is transferring to the Young Americans College of Performing Arts) will share “If We Hold on Together” from The Land Before Time, and an ensemble of Five Phi Theta Kappans will sing the Honor Society’s song, which they performed at the closing of the International Catalyst Conference in Nashville on April 8 with over 3,500 in the audience.
The concert will close with three inspirational songs: an a cappella jazz arrangement of “Over the Rainbow,” How Far I’ll Go from Disney’s Moana by soloist Megan Kalb, and Omnia Sol (Let Your Heart Be Staid” by Z Randall Stroope sung by the combined choirs and alumni. Both choirs are under the direction of Karen Dale, Associate Professor of Music.
“The students are excited about sharing their music with family, friends and the community,” stated Dale. “The concert is free, and we hope that everyone will come and help us celebrate the conclusion of a successful semester of study.”
The Cleveland State Alumni Association will host a reception immediately following the concert to honor our choir members, as well as returning alumni in attendance for the event. All are welcome to stay, celebrate and connect!