Quinton Bent

On Friday January 19th at 7:00 pm I attended the South Carolina Choral Division Western Region Choir.  This concert was a celebration of the western region’s top high school choir singers. The concert showcased a wide variety of music that is enduring, engaging, and enjoyable. The following schools participated: Boiling Springs High School, Dixie High School, D.W. Daniel High School, Liberty High School, Palmetto High School, Seneca High School, St. James High School, Walhalla High School, West-Oak High School, and Woodmont High School. The event was part of Southern Wesleyan University’s annual Fine Arts Series at Newton Hobson Chapel and Fine Arts Center. Admission was free.  Dr. Don R. Campbell was the conductor and Professor Jane Dill was the accompanist. Some of the major composers represented were Robert Lau, J.S. Bach, Gregg Lapp, Charles Ives, Meredith Wilson and Genna Rae McNeil, Richard A. Williamson, Victor C. Johnson, Peter Anglea, Greg Gilpin, and Keith Hampton.

The conductor, Dr. Campbell, is a professor of music and director of choral activities at Southern Wesleyan University. Prior to his appointment at SWU, he taught vocal music for 20 years at Redwood High School in Visalia, California- building the program to 300 students in five choirs. Dr. Campbell received his Bachelor of Arts degree in music education from California State University, Fullerton.

The accompanist, Professor Dill, is the professor of piano and theory at Southern Wesleyan University where she serves as Chair of the Fine Arts Division. Professor Dill has a varied accompanying background and has served as organist for numerous churches. She received her Associate of Arts degree from Anderson College, her bachelor of Music degree from Mars Hill College and her Masters of Fine Arts degree from the University of Georgia.

Upon first glance at the performers, it was easy to recognize that each of the different schools has their own style of dress. The only uniformity was found in the color of their dress, which was black. I did not mind this seeing as though this was a celebration of each school’s top singers. Being able to distinguish each school was a necessity. The only down side to the lack of uniformity was the fact that there were the few of the high schoolers who decided to dress as if they were going to a night club rather than the South Carolina Choral Division Western Region Choir, but this was to be expected. This was also one of the main examples of how their youth was made evident throughout the show.

Bonse Aba by Victor C. Johnson was my favorite piece from the show. This was only the third song into the performance but it served an important role in breaking up the seriousness of the event. The previous two songs both shared very slow tempos and delved into sad themes. Bonse Aba broke this sequence and actually brought me to my feet and made me dance a little bit. It was cheerful and joyful and also featured an African beat. Not only did this song make the audience want to sway and move, but it also made the choir start to dance.  When the song reached the first chorus, they all started to sway side to side on rhythm with the song. Occasionally, there were a few high school students who wanted to stand out and sway in the opposite way as everyone else, which added to the youthful humor on display.

The song that stuck out to me most from a technical perspective was Erschallet Ihr Lieder by Bach. This song had a disjunct melody. A disjunct melody means that the succession of sounds with tonal organization was very erratic. Because of this, it was staccato with very technical elements involved. Often times the pitch of the singers would change very quickly from mezzo forte to fortissimo. The harmony was consonant because the two different pitches harmonized to make a pleasing sound. There was no degree of dissonance in this song. The sounds of the trumpet really stood out, and the combination of a few vocalists singing in a higher pitch made the song much more entertaining and engaging for the audience, along with the repetition of “Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten!” The piece is unified through the rhythm because at certain points in the song the singers harmonize.

All and all, every singer seemed happy to be a part of this production. I can’t imagine them having a facility as nice as Newton Hobson to perform in at their local high school, so they all took advantage of the opportunity. Having not been to a recital before at SWU, I really enjoyed attending this concert. This concert was so good that the song “Erschallet Ihr Lieder” was in my head for the next few days.

Attending this concert was quite a good experience and I am definitely planning on going to another one in the near future. I highly recommend that everyone who reads this article try to see at least one performance a semester.