For the second year, the Davis & Elkins College Concert Choir will release two virtual performances to brighten the Christmas season. Both will be available on the College’s YouTube channel.
The first selection, “Mary Did You Know” by Mark Lowery and Buddy Green, is scheduled to premiere at noon Sunday Dec. 5. It can be viewed at youtu.be/jw5NoIoSqCk. The second release, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” based on the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow with music by Mark Hall, Dale Oliver and Bernie Herms, premieres at noon Friday, Dec. 10. It can be viewed at youtu.be/bKk60UGyut4.
The D&E Choir has been rehearsing and performing in a non-traditional choral setting for nearly two years. The students are very pleased with their productions and are looking forward to sharing their music with everyone.
“Music is alive and well with D&E Choir,” said Choir Director Liz Marshall-MacVean. “Their performances during the pandemic have been in virtual settings for the protection of the singers and the D&E community.”
Members of the fall 2021 D&E Choir are Alexandra Jefferds, Aliyah Plum, Heather Humphrey, Emma Hicks, Harmony Wilson, Natasha MacKay, Kyia Mcgill, Emma McDougal, Jessica Walton, Emma Watson, Anna Ruf, Mykaila Dukes, Melody Smith and Jennifer Lantz.
The choir rehearses in non-traditional settings including outdoors and via Zoom, which requires the vocalist to be more independent while keeping an open mind.
“The process in a non-traditional setting is very different and challenging,” Marshall-MacVean explained. “The students do not vocalize their music together in the traditional setting, but virtually through the use of recording devices, rehearsal techniques and in sectional work. Pitches and accompaniment are professionally recorded by pianist Donna Baroudi Huffman in a sound studio setting.”
Class discussions are conducted regularly on topics such as diction, breath and marks in the music, which help prepare the students for their individual recordings. The final recordings are mixed by Seth Maynard at Lone Wolfe Studio.
“It is the goal of the group to get back to a more traditional singing setting in the spring and they look forward to performing in person in the very near future,” Marshall-MacVean said.
Anyone interested in joining the D&E Concert Choir or who has questions about the choir may email Marshall-MacVean at marshalle@dewv.edu.
Members of the fall 2021 Davis & Elkins College Concert Choir are, from left, seated, Aliyah Plum, Harmony Wilson, Anna Ruf, Emma McDougal, Emma Watson, Jessica Walton and Alexandra Jefferds; standing, Jennifer Lantz, Mykaila Dukes, Heather Humphrey, Kyia Mcgill, Emma Hicks, Natasha MacKay and Melody Smith.
