By James Cochran, Staff Writer and Photographer
To end the spring semester on a high note (literally), Pellissippi State Community College’s Hardin Valley Campus hosted its last choral concert of the semester. Directed by Meagan Humphreys and accompanist Peggy Cavin Hinkle, the concert was not only unique, but delivered a polished, emotionally rich performance, from surprising additions to the setlist to Pellissippi State alumni performing with the choir.
Concert Chorale started the concert with “Ave Verum” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and arranged by C. F. Manney. The choir continued with “Vidi Aquam” by Michael McCarthy and the piece “Tango to Evora” by Loreena Mckennit, arranged by Jon Washburn, with a solo by Jenna Estes and Richard Brown on the finger cymbals. They ended their portion of the concert with Mark Brymer’s arrangement of Billy Joel’s “The River of Dreams”, with soloists Cecilia Holt and one of our staff members and photographers, Will Dishmon. I was really surprised to see the song when I read the program! It’s not everyday you see a Billy Joel song in a choir’s list of songs, and it’s also one of the more forgotten Joel hits too. A few Broadway songs were included throughout the concert, with Song for Chorus from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” sung by the women of the choir, Summertime from “Porgy and Bess” and Waving Through a Window, from “Dear Evan Hansen” by the Variations choir. Seeing different kinds of music sung by these talented people throughout their concerts is something I always look forward to.
An addition I hadn’t heard before was the “Flat Chance Barbershop Quartet” with soloists Clay Ozzane, Ryan Copeland, Micah Blair, and Isaiah Crisp, whose harmonies were really amazing. A perfect ending to the concert was a tribute to Pellissippi State’s late music director and professor Bill Brewer, with John Purifoy’s “A Pentatonic Psalm”, which has a dedication to Brewer in the first page of the sheet music, and Peter C. Lutkin’s “The Lord Bless You and Keep You”.
On being a part of the Choir concert, “It’s like you’re part of one big instrument, you know? It’s really nice to be able to be standing right in the middle of all of these talented people that are singing…[Singing is] very therapeutic,” Will Dishmon, one of our staff members and choral concert soloist, describes. There is something very special about performing, and it comes through to the audience; being able to release your emotions and tensions in such a creative way alongside other students is a very rewarding experience.
If you want to rewatch the choir concert, or if you weren’t able to attend, Pellissippi State’s YouTube channel has live streamed the full concert, along with an archive of previous performances. I’d highly recommend watching it because the last choir concert was a great ending to the semester, showcasing the students’ hard work and dedication.
