CMU choirs collaborate for spring concerts
Christ Central Choir performed at Staples Family Concert Hall for the first time on Sunday, April 26.
Joining the Central Michigan University Women’s Chorus for the Diverse Voices spring concert, Christ Central Choir, directed by Kebby Kelly, performed at the beginning of the concert and sang alongside the Women’s Chorus, directed by Alan T. Gumm.
The concert brought diverse sounds together and featured styles from around the world.
“Everyone sounded so good,” said Battle Creek junior DeLaun Dillard, who is in Christ Central Choir. “It was awesome being able to collaborate with them and sing something different from what we normally sing.”
Dillard said he likes being able to use music to impact people’s lives. He said the Christ Central Choir travels around the state to perform, but this was their first time performing in Staples Family Concert Hall.
During the performance, the room filled with energy and the audience clapped along.
“I thought it was cool to get two different kinds of choirs together because it really just intertwined different styles and made it really interesting,” said Macomb freshman Breanna Previdi, a member of the Women’s Chorus.
Previdi said the song performed by the combined choirs, He Never Failed Me Yet, was her favorite.
“It was very upbeat and we all just came together and became one,” she said.
At the end of this song, the audience stood and clapped along with the choirs.
Earlier in the day, the Concert Choir and Chamber Singers held their spring concert, Sing into Spring. Nina Nash-Robertson and Jonathan Schott conducted the concert.
Troy junior Walter Tufts said his favorite song from Sing into Spring was Gloria, which the CMU Concert Choir and the CMU Chamber Singers performed together.
“My favorite piece had to have been the last piece we did as a combined group with all of the brass and the organ,” Tufts said.
He said he loves being a part of the Concert Choir because it’s a group of people, not just music majors, who love music and come together to create it.
“The atmosphere (during the concert) is just great,” Tufts said. “It’s almost like going to a movie and once it’s over, it’s like the magic’s over, but while you’re there you’re so intertwined with the music and you’re so intrigued by it.”
The concerts each featured a variety of songs and instruments.
“(Performing in the choir) makes me happy,” Previdi said. “It brings energy to everything.”
