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8A - Monday, January 9, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
The 'U' isn't alive with the sound of SATB music
When I arrived at
Michigan nearly
three years ago, I,
like many other students, knew
absolutely nobody. Asa terrified
freshman
with no friend
base ina state
I'd visitedv
only twice
before, I knew -
my meet-and-
greets with
my hall neigh- LAUREN
bors weren't CASERTA
going to be
enough to
keep me socially involved during
my first semester of college.
But like my mom always says
(and kids, always listen to your
mother), the best wayto meet
new friends is to join a group of
people doing something - any-
thing - you truly love. And as
horribly cliche as it sounds, I love
to sing.
I was only four months out
of high school, and I could still
vividly remember the underclass-
men members of our Honors Con-
cert Choir singing the "Old Irish
Blessing" asa farewell to me and
my fellow seniors as I bawled into
my friend's shoulder. The memo-
ries I made as a member of HCC,
which was the top-auditioned
mixed choir at my high school,
were irreplaceable - and I was
eager to make more at Michigan.
But as I stumbled through Fes-
tifall's maze of flyers and sign-up
sheets, I soon realized with dis-
may that the group I was search-
ing for, the group I had looked
forward to joining ever since I
had accepted my spot in the class
of 2013, didn't seem to exist.
True, there is the University-
sponsored Arts Chorale. But that
is a class that participants must
register to be in. There are more
a cappella groups than I can
shakea stick at. But there is no
student-run, auditioned SATB
(Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass) choir
that focuses on competition-level
music aimed at non-music majors.
This is both extraordinary and
disappoifigfor a school this
size. Many current University the means.
students have had experience Above all, singing in competi-
singing in high school choirs tion-level groups was a great way
that participated in regional and to leave the chaos and stress of
state performances - not only do school behind while still push-
competitions and festivals give ing hard toward an ultimately
teams a goal to work toward, but rewarding goal. I loved how Hon-
they also open up opportunities ors Concert Choir had a magical
to perform in other states and way of allowing me to forget
countries. about the torments of AP classes
and college applications when all
nine vocal parts of a song would
Shower suddenly align in perfect, goose-
bump-inducing harmony after
singers, unite! hours of meticulous and frustrat-
ing work.
So what's the deal? We havea
school chock-full of passionate
Groups like this also expose and competitive students who
students to the very best that are waiting for a way to channel
the world of choral music and their energy into something they
arrangements has to offer. love just as much as their non-
Songs that split a choir's bases, musical interests. Engineers who
tenors, altos and sopranos into are soaring sopranos. History
subgroups of two, three or more majors who are bellowing bases.
do require discipline and care- Honey-sweet anthropology altos
ful teamwork, but anyone who's and tenors wrapped in the trials
heard the booming echoes of of organic chemistry.
Hogan or delicate dissonance of The University of Michigan
Whitaker knows the end justifies is living proof that high-quality
student-led performance teams
can flourish. Basement Arts is a
completely student-run theater
group with a long history of cre-
ative excellence - "A Very Potter
Musical" was born on their stage.
A cappella groups such as the
Dicks & Janes and the Compul-
sive Lyres also rely on student
talent to keep up their polished
performances.
But if ever there existed a
perfect template for what a large-
scale choir with the freedom of a
student group could look like at
Michigan, one would have to look
no further than the Michigan
Pops Orchestra.
This student-led group was
founded in 1995 by Warren Hsu, a
then-student and eventual physi-
cian who wanted a way to practice
music outside of the traditional
University framework while still
providing an exciting learning
experience for its members.
Having grown from a simple
idea shared among a few like-
minded musicians to a beloved
University staple run by a
13-member student executive
board, the Pops are a perfect
example of how a large student
extracurricular group with com-
plete control over their inner
workings can successfully flour-
ish while exposing themselves*
and their audiences to everything
from the challenges of Tchai-
kovsky to the magic of Disney.
The Pops are an invaluable
potential blueprint for what an
auditioned, student-led choir
for non-music majors could look
like. The interest is certainly
there, and though a capella isn't
for everyone, many students put
their collegiate vocal plans on
hold when they can't find a stu-
dent group that fits the bill.
Or is it? Does anyone else out
there who hasn't yet found what
they're looking for want to put
down their pencils, shut their
computers and warm up their
voices again?
Caserta has lost her voice.
To help her find it, e-mail
caserta@umich.edu.
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