TU’s Chorale and Sounds bid 2025 farewell with a hospitality-centric concert and welcomed in 2026 with the same.
Light instrumental music established an atmosphere of jubilation as Chorale members welcomed guests into Habecker Hall on Feb. 13.
The rumble of idle chatter rose and fell as the Chorale broke into their opening number, “Tonight” from “West Side Story.” They then treated their audience to the song “All Good Gifts” from “Godspell.”
“We’re singing it right before dinner is served as the prayer,” Kettie Olson, a sophomore psychology major and Chorale member, said.
This year’s Valentine Banquet theme was Broadway, so many guests were familiar with the concert’s playbill, which included “Agony” from “Into the Woods,” “For Good” from “Wicked,” “Think of Me” from “Phantom of the Opera” and “On My Own” from “Les Misérables.”
“I chose a style of musical that uses a more contemporary style of singing, connects with our audience, and allows us to have fun telling stories,” Reed Spencer, Music, Theatre and Dance department co-chair, associate professor of music and director of the Chorale and Sounds, said.
Such contemporary songs are atypical for collegiate-level productions such as this, but they are not less valuable, Claire Olver, a sophomore music education major, said. Olson agreed, saying concerts like this help students expand their repertoires by singing a variety of pieces.
The songs were simultaneously a fun break from usual choral music and a challenge for memorization, Hudson Bell, a junior secondary social studies education major and Chorale officer, said.
“Singing is my favorite part of musicals,” Olver said, “So this is the embodiment of my favorite things, which I love. And who doesn’t like food and singing?”
Besides singing contemporary songs, this banquet offered Chorale members the opportunity to perform in varied group sizes to listen to fellow members perform.
While several whole-group pieces were selected to fit the theme upfront, songs sung by smaller ensemble and duet groups were selected through an audition process. Each song told a different story but fit the concert’s theme.
“I’m excited to sing ‘All I Ask of You’ from ‘Phantom,’” Bell said. “I saw ‘Phantom’ in the West End when I went on Literary London.”
Performing “You Matter to Me” from “Waitress,” a song from one of her favorite musicals, as a duet with Milo Guevara has been enjoyable, Olver said.
Even within larger pieces, small groups were able to shine. Subsections of Chorale members popped on and off stage while progressing through a medley of well-known works by playwrights Rodgers and Hammerstein. This song proved to be the most diverse of the night.
“Masquerade” from “Phantom of the Opera” was particularly challenging for the Chorale.
“That’s probably our hardest song,” Olver said. “It’s kinda like a little rap in there.”
The song’s main challenge is keeping the verses straight, Olson said. The melody repeats, but the words change frequently.
This, combined with the short timeframe in which this concert was developed, gave the Chorale and Sounds an opportunity to demonstrate their mastery of craft.
“The Chorale begins the music less than two weeks before the performance,” Spencer said, “So it is a fun experiment in building a whole concert from the ground up extremely quickly.”
The Chorale is grateful to attendees, whose monetary support through ticket sales contributes toward their tour in South Korea in May, allowing them to spread their hospitality internationally.
