Miranda Fritts
Staff Writer
The Cameron Concert Choir and Centennial Singers held their first spring concert at 7:30 p.m., March 6, in the Cameron University Theatre.
Choir Director Dr. Christian Morren opened the concert by introducing herself, the theme of the concert and Centennial Singers.
The theme for this concert revolved around American composers and song writers, which meant the song lyrics were predominately English.
After the opening, Centennial Singers Director Doris Lambert took over for Dr. Morren and introduced the group, which included the pianist David Anderson and the drummer Dr. Jim Lambert.
The Centennial Singers led the concert in the National Anthem after Mrs. Lambert asked the audience to stand and join the recognition of our country.
Immediately following the National Anthem, Mrs. Lambert went back up to the microphone to introduce the first song in their set list.
In honor of our state, the Singers began the concert with the Richard Rodgers’s arrangement of “Oklahoma!”
After the rendition of Oklahoma’s state song, the Centennial Singers brought in Cameron University Associate Professor Dr. Kirsten Underwood on the cello, who helped with a Rob Fisher arrangement of Leonard Berstien’s mash-up of “Take Care of This House” and “My House.”
Following the soft piece, the Singers turned up the beat again with an acapella version of “Turn the Beat Around,” with senior music majors Lorenzo Butler and Gabriel Caron as the soloists and beat boxers.
Butler is an active member in the Centennial Singers and Concert Choir. He said he spent some time on perfecting his solo for “Turn the Beat Around.”
“I needed a lot of breath,” he said. “I was like, ‘Where is my inhaler?’ But I thought it turned out good in the end.”
At 7:30 p.m. on April 6, Butler will have his senior recital and he invites everyone to come and see the culmination of his years studying at Cameron.
The Centennial Singers finished their set with Kirby Shaw’s arrangement of “Got to Get You Into My Life” by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, featuring Natasha Scharfenberg as the vocal soloist, Cameron Music Professor Dr. J.D. Little on the saxophone and music major Jason Villareal on the trumpet.
Between the Centennial Singers and Concert Choir sets, Dr. Morren recognized Butler and senior music major Amy Morales, whose original compositions got accepted for publication.
Dr. Morren then introduced Morales to play her composition “Reminisce” on the piano, accompanied by Underwood on the cello.
After the audience applauded the original composition, Morales, as well as a few Centennial Singers, joined Concert Choir on stage for the final set.
Dr. Morren introduced the choir and the choir’s pianist Tom Willoughby.
The choir sang a set of five calm, uplifting songs from American composers, including: “Set Me as a Seal” by Rene Clausen; “Sleep Eric” by Eric Whitacre; “Sure on this Shining Night” by Morten Lauridsen; and “At the River” and “Zion’s Walls” by Aaron Copland.
Audience member Byron Phillips, who attended to see his girlfriend perform, said he also comes just for the overall experience.
“The show was great,” he said. “The singers had beautiful voices. It really brought some life to the music presented to us.”
The next Choir and Centennial Singers concert will be at 7:30 p.m., April 26, in the Cameron University Theatre.