The Geneseo Symphony Orchestra, Festival Chorus and the Genesee Valley Children’s Choir put on a stunning performance of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana,” during which instrumental players emphasized each note perfectly as the melodious Latin lyrics soared over the beautiful notes.
The concert was held in Wadsworth Auditorium on Nov. 19 and conducted by Coordinator of Instrumental Activities and principal conductor of the Geneseo Symphony Orchestra Leah McGray, who directed both the Symphony Orchestra and the Wind Ensemble.
Orff’s composition was inspired by a collection of 250 poems that he separated into the following sections: Primo Vere (Spring), Uf Dem Anger (In the Meadow), In Taberna (In the Tavern) and Cour D’Amours (Love Songs)and an introduction titled Fortuna Imperatix Mundi.
For Festival Chorus member and musical theater major freshman Kathryn Berton, being a part of the choir was an amazing experience.
“I love the community of the choir and the bond you get,” Berton said. “I like how you are all given a song and you all have to learn the song together. It becomes like your own.”
The concert featured three vocal soloists who all blew the crowd away with their respective section. The first soloist was baritone and instructor Alan Cline. His rich voice echoed beautifully during each of his solo parts, however, his falsetto during the “Court of Love” section of “Dies, nox et omnia” was the highlight of his performance.
The next soloist was Jeffrey Tabor ‘96, who graduated with a B.A. in vocal performance. His beautiful vibrato effortlessly complimented his very high-pitched voice.
The third and final soloist was soprano Keely Flutterer, who is doing doctoral work at the Eastman School of Music. Her voice smoothly hit the higher notes, shocking the audience with its beauty.
Pre-accounting major freshman Qing Li expressed how much she loved the concert.
“This is my first time seeing the orchestra. I was very impressed with everything. Everyone put a lot of effort into it and the team work was amazing,” Li said. “I loved the part when the kids came in because it was a great surprise. The kids were up [on the balcony] singing and they were just so cute and adorable. That was my favorite part.”
The effort each group put into their performance was evident by how impressive the concert was. Berton noted that hard work was one of the reasons everyone should attend future concerts.
“It’s important to see other people do what they are good at and to appreciate the arts and all the hard work that goes into it because the same hard work that someone puts into their biology lab is the same exact amount of hard work or even more that someone puts into a concert,” Berton noted. “It’s important to appreciate everyone’s talents and acknowledge them.”
Under the conduction of Coordinator of Instrumental Activities and principal conductor of the Geneseo Symphony Orchestra Leah McGray, the Geneseo Symphony Orchestra held a concert on Nov. 19 in Wadsworth Auditorium. The orchestra was accompanied by two outside musical groupings, Festival Chorus and the Genesee Valley Children’s Choir. (Sophie Yeomans/Asst. Copy Editor)