Lorelai Gango/The Mossy Log
On Tuesday, Oct. 21, the Lewis & Clark Music Department hosted the annual James W. Rogers Concert. The event featured performances by several choral groups on campus, as well as special performances by faculty members. The concert opened with the inauguration of Director of Choral Activities Katherine FitzGibbon as the James W. Rogers Professor of Music. The concert and professorship were named for James W. Rogers ’64, an LC alum who was a prominent member of the choir and whose family continues to support the school to this day. The professorship was established in 1995 by the Mary Stuart Rogers Foundation.
At the beginning of the concert, FitzGibbon expressed her gratitude for receiving the professorship with words of thanks to colleagues, family and students. She explained that the concert’s theme would center around music meaningful to her and her journey as a teacher at LC, which began in 2008.
The Community Chorale was the first to perform. They are a choir open to students, staff and community members. They opened the concert with a performance of Johannes Brahms’ “Geistliches Lied.” The piece, as described by FitzGibbons, is a spiritual song meant to elicit feelings of peace and tranquility. It was accompanied by the organ, which made for a full surround-sound experience in the chapel. The piece was slow and temperate in tone as notes flowed like water into each other. It was a calming and beautiful opening to the concert.
The second song performed by the Community Chorale was “The Battle of Jericho,” arranged by Moses Hogan. This song, in stark contrast to the previous piece, was lively and intense. The lyrics were repetitive, quick and almost frantic in nature. I enjoyed the contrast between the harmonies during this piece, as well as the soprano solo that led into the full choir coming together at the end.
Next, the Voces Auream choir, directed by Aubrey Patterson, performed two pieces. Voces Auream is a small treble choir that performs pieces for high-voiced singers. The first song was Antonio Vivaldi’s “Allegro,” arranged by Z. Randall Stroope. The song was a joyful, peppy wedding song full of arpeggios. The middle of the piece transitioned into a slower, more wandering melody before returning to the lively, light sound from the opening. The performers smiled and swayed along with the music.
After the Vivaldi song, Voces Auream performed a modern song titled “We Are Timeless” by Moira Smiley. FitzGibbons described the piece as an LGBT anthem. Throughout this piece, performers moved down from the risers to stand in front of the piano and conductor until nearly all of them were at the front of the stage. The song itself, while well-performed, was far from remarkable. It was a ballad about banding together despite our differences, preaching the refrain that we need “every color of the rainbow.” While a kind sentiment, the song felt like a watered-down pride anthem, not quite delivering any sort of deeper message about queer rights or freedoms.
FitzGibbon, along with two other faculty members, Aubrey Patterson and Andrew Bergh, and two LC students, Nicholas Vilches and Zachary Martin — performed an a cappella piece entitled “We Are Murmurs” by Cecille Elliott. The piece was commissioned by FitzGibbon through the Resonance Ensemble, a Portland ensemble group of which FitzGibbon is the president and artistic director. The song was about dealing with sudden change, specifically change associated with grief. It was lyrically interesting and well-performed; however, the placement of the microphones at either end of the group made it difficult to hear the middle vocalists. The women in the center, including FitzGibbon, were hard to hear, especially when they were singing the verse while the men created the backup music. They produced a fun beat, but the separate parts did not always blend well, likely due to the disparity in volume.
After this performance, Stephanie Thompson, an adjunct faculty member who does piano accompaniment for the choir classes, performed a piano solo — Astor Piazzolla’s “Prelude No. 3, Sunny’s Game.” The piece had a beautiful, swirling melody that felt like tumbling in a whirlpool. The tone was relatively dramatic, but included lighter elements as well. It felt like a piece that might be played at an upper-class soiree in the 1930s. At certain points, the melody sharpened for a moment, only to return to the cyclical sound. The piece turned more frantic, almost discordant, for a few moments before ending. The performance was a great testament to Thompson’s piano skills, which often go unappreciated in concerts focused on the choirs.
The last group to perform was the Capella Novela, LC’s premier mixed choir. The first performance was “Lakbay ng Aglia” by Saunder Choi, translating to “The Eagle’s Flight.” The piece, sung in Tagalog, was meant to capture the sound and feeling of birdsong. This was my favorite piece of the night. From the opening moments of wailing birdsong coupled with background chirps and mimics of rustling leaves, I was hooked on the bright, highly specific image the music was evoking. The disparate noises came together in counterpoint, with melodic top notes sung over energetic rhythms that captured a natural, birdlike cadence. The piece culminated in a beautiful harmony, possibly the only point in the song where everyone sang in sync.
Next, the Capella Novella performed an arrangement of the song “True Colors” by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, arranged by Matthew Brown. This performance featured two solo parts as well as piano accompaniment. When the soloists were singing into the mics, it became very difficult to hear the chorus behind them. In addition, the way the microphones amplified their voices was a somewhat jarring contrast to the naturalistic resonance of the chorus. Other than that, the soloists and the choir sounded beautiful. Arrangements of well-known or pop songs into choral performances can be awkward, and while this had some awkward moments in transitions from solo singing to full choral singing, I think the arrangement worked well as a whole.
Finally, every choir came together to sing “Shenandoah,” arranged by James Erb. With the choirs positioned all around the chapel, the melody circled the audience, creating a very pleasing experience. Some parts at the beginning felt a little out of sync, as different vocal parts took turns with the melody; however, once everyone started singing in harmony, they seemed to connect better. It was a beautiful and harmonious way to end the concert.
The concert as a whole felt very polished, moving relatively seamlessly between performances. It was touching to see FitzGibbon receive the professorship and interesting to hear her thoughts on the songs performed by the choir groups. I commend the performers’ hard work as well as everyone who worked behind the scenes to put the concert together. The Rogers Concert is an annual event, and I would encourage students to go to experience a night of lovely music.
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