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Georgia College & State University’s three choral ensembles presented “We Sing” at First Baptist Church on Saturday.
“We Sing” features pieces that were written to express the thoughts and feelings of humanity,” said Jennifer Flory, director. “Since COVID, we were in the darkness and now we are coming back into the light. So, we are focusing on all things that connect with people on a human level.”
During the fall of 2014, Flory led a similar choir performance named “Music of the People.” This prior performance was an inspiration for “We Sing”.
“It was a similar concept. After four or more years, we sometimes recycle ideas so new students have a chance to be a part of these programs,” said Flory.
“We Sing” featured arrangements of protest songs, folk songs, African American spirituals, sea shanties and more. GCSU’s Women’s Ensemble, University Chorus and Max Noah Singers performed some of these songs in English and others in their native language. The songs ranged from all over the world including the U.S., Kenya, Korea, Latvia, New Zealand and Singapore. The choirs were also joined by Dr. Lev Ryabinin and Dr. Hue Jang on piano and other special guests.
“I think that these songs can bring messages of hope to the audience and messages of triumphing over adversity, but also messages of sometimes not,” said Flory.
One anti war song called “Prayer of the Children,” sung by the tenors and basses of University Chorus and Max Noah Singers, was in English excluding one section that was translated to Ukrainian.
According to Flory, they made this decision to honor children in Ukraine children and what they are going through.
Pianist Ryabinin, who is Ukrainian, helped translate the song and teach students how to properly sing it.
“We are trying to connect to the people. Part of that is connecting to real world issues and honoring those in Ukraine who are suffering right now,” said Flory.
Choral conductors Dr. Jennifer Flory, Dr. Dana Gorzelany-Mostak and Allison Ryder worked with students about two and a half hours per week preparing for this concert. Preparation began when the school semester started. According to Flory, each ensemble learned their individual pieces alone and met on Oct.
13 to sing for the first time together. In the performance, only the opening and closing pieces were sung together by all three ensembles.
“There are about 70 students between the choral ensembles with some students overlapping,” said Flory. “They have been preparing for a long time and they each understand what they are conveying through these pieces. A major part of a performance is understanding what you want your audience to feel and knowing the songs.”
“We Sing” brought together multiple languages and messages from across the world into First Baptist Church in Baldwin County. Flory hopes the program helped put a little light in each audience members’ heart that will uplift them.