Alamire Serenades Memphis

This past Sunday, the world renowned European a capella group Alamire gave a beautiful performance at St. Peter's Cathedral in downtown Memphis, TN. The Rhodes Singers and Women’s Chorus had a true honor in taking part in the concert. The majority of the concert was sung by Alamire but we joined them on a song or two which I thought was quite an honor. The focused a lot on music that was centuries old and dated way back to the medieval period. One example was Josquin Des Prez's song Ave Maria...Virgo Serena. Unfortunately I know this song a little bit too well having studied it intensely in one of my music classes. It was, however, rather exciting to hear a piece that I know so much about performed especially by such an incredibly talented a group. Another fantastic part of the performance was the venue which was chosen for it, St. Peter's Cathedral. St. Peter's Cathedral is not only an extremely beautiful church but the acoustics inside the building are beyond amazing. The echo that resonates off the walls is truly remarkable and made the concert all the more enjoyable. I am so glad that they decided to come and perform for us in Memphis as part of their first ever American tour. I really hope they come back again soon too. This summer when I go to LONDON (WHICH I AM RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED ABOUT) I am going to make it my business to find out if there is any possibility for me to go and see another concert of theirs because they are in a word AMAZING.

Arts Arts and more Arts

So this past week I participated in a lot of things involving the arts. It began on Thursday when i attended Juxtaparty. I think it is so interesting how this event has evolved through the years. It is difficult to say if something is better or worse but each year has had such a tremendously different feel to it. I enjoyed the chillax atmosphere of this year’s event. Friday I had my NATS audition and I thought it went pretty well but the judges had a different opinion. It was pretty tough for me to stomach not doing as well as I would have liked but I am getting over it. I believe strongly in the phrase if at first you don't succeed try try again and that is exactly what I will do next week at my Opera Memphis audition. I also on Friday had the great privilege of seeing Lysastrata being put on at the McCoy Theatre at Rhodes College. It is actually the first show I have gone to at the McCoy in my entire tenure here. I was truly blown away by the incredible acting I saw. Man we have some incredible actors and actresses at our school I honestly had no idea at all. I definitely am very motivated to make sure I go to the next production put on at the McCoy. I also got to see Cinderella put on by Opera Memphis this past weekend. I really hope I am able to become a member of their company when I audition. Til next week peace out!

People were Dying to See Us

So this past Friday was the performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in B Minor by the Rhodes Singers, Master Singers Chorale, and Women's Chorus. Without a doubt in my mind I have to say that it was a huge success. The Immaculate Conception Church was beyond filled to its capacity and a lot of people had to stand in the back because there were no seats. I have to admit for a very long time I was quite worried about his performance especially because of the lack of interest in the work I saw in the Rhodes Singers. This is because of the extreme difficulty of the work and the virtuous skill and talent needed in order to sing it. The Master Singers were a huge help in bringing the work together for everyone. One of the most rare parts of the performance was the use of a countertenor. You could see everyones mouths drop in the audience as soon as a 20 something year old man began to sing as if he were Beverly Sills. But I must say I think his talent blew everyone away after the initial moments of shock. During this performance one of the strangest things I have ever had happen in a performance occurred. A woman got sick in the audience and fire trucks and ambulances came to her rescue but that did not stop us from continuing. Not for one moment did the performance take a rest (except for at intermission of course). I truly believe that Dr. Sharp's final conducting experience here at Rhodes College was a huge success and it truly saddens me that it will be his last. I am very excited to say that there are a lot of artsy things coming up this weekend and I am very much looking forward to participating in them!!