Suhani Gupta

Capriccio’s soprano section adds body percussion to their performance of “The Road Home.” This piece concluded their three-song set.

The fall choral concert brought the theme “Global Movements” to the Patil Theater on Thursday. Featured choral groups included treble chamber choir Dolce Voce, tenor and bass choir Rhapsody, and all-voice choirs Capriccio, Downbeat and Festival Chorus.

Throughout the show, groups sang pieces from different countries, like Capriccio and Downbeat’s adaptation of the Uruguayan folk song “Ronda Catonga” and Rhapsody’s performance of the Spanish tango-inspired song “Bailarà.”

Vocal music teacher Jennifer Sandusky, who directed the groups, reflected on the theme and repertoire of the show.

“One of the best ways that you can understand, learn and even try to empathize with people from other cultures is when you sing their music,” Sandusky said. “When you sing their songs and learn how their music is structured, you’re getting a really amazing cultural education in action. Across the world, this is how you show respect for these other cultures.”

Senior Simon Kirjner arranged Jacob Collier’s “Little Blue” for Downbeat. This piece from Collier’s multicultural album “Djesse Vol. 4” incorporates instruments like the bailalaika and agogo bell to create complex harmonies.

“I spent a lot of my summer listening to the piece, listening to other versions of it, and creating my own,” Simon said. “It’s a very difficult piece. There are a lot of interesting harmonies that pop out. I’m really happy with the work we put into it, and I am beyond happy with how it turned out. It’s so crazy to me that it’s something I produced and put work into, and now this is the product.”

At the end of the show, all choirs came together for a rendition of “Baba Yetu” from the video game Civilization IV. This final performance incorporated instrumentalists like Capriccio alto Lauren Xi (11) on the drums, flute, and violin. Lauren played a drum instead of singing for the performance, noting the difference in their role. 

“It was a challenge to keep myself grounded and to watch Ms. Sandusky at all times to make sure I was on the beat,” Lauren said. “It’s a lot more noticeable if you, as a very loud percussionist, make a mistake, as opposed to if you are singing in a group of like eighty people and you make a mistake. But I also enjoyed it a lot because it challenged me and it was fun to push myself.”

Choirs practiced their songs from the beginning of the year. Festival Chorus and Dolce Voce soprano Alexis Santosa (10) reflected on her experience rehearsing with her groups.

“The rehearsal process is definitely difficult because we all have different positionings, different ins and outs, and little errors that we need to fix here and there,” Alexis said. “But what ends up happening is that we fix them, and it turns out to be a wonderful masterpiece.”

During the final dress rehearsal on Thursday, members from all different choirs sat in the audience and supported other groups during their performances. Lauren highlighted the importance of connecting with fellow singers in this way.

“Relaxing and hanging out with other members of the choir is really helpful and conducive to singing as a group,” Lauren said. “It helps you connect with each other and build up that trust that you have to have when you’re singing together.”

Additional reporting by Leah Krupnik.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Suhani Gupta

Downbeat members Jessica Skylar Chen (11), Charlotte Ludlow (12), and Beibei Shen (11) sing "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing." Jessica acted as a soloist throughout the song.