By Natalie Peake
Hood College Choir and Gospel Choir will perform spring semester concerts throughout the month of April.
The Hood College Gospel Choir Ensemble will perform a spring concert on April 27th at 3:00 p.m. in Hood’s Coffman Chapel with a variety of traditional and contemporary music.
The Hood College Choir will perform the Brahms German Requiem, and five Liebeslieder Waltzes on April 13th at 3 p.m. in The Brodbeck Music Hall. The five Liebeslieder Waltzes are based on country dances. The performance will be sung in German. There is free admittance for all concerts.
“Brahms wrote the piano part himself, and it is rarely performed,” said the director of choral activities, Lynn Staininger. Staininger believes the performance is going to be different and out of the ordinary for the concert choir.
The Hood College adjunct voice instructor, Lisa Dodson, will perform as a soprano soloist for the concert choir. She has been performing for concerts for the past 15 years. Piano accompaniment will be provided by Nick IntVeldt and Bill Powell.
The Hood College Choir meets twice a week on Tuesday and Thursdays during common hour. This time is set aside to rehearse for the upcoming concert.
The gospel choir meets on Sunday nights at 6 p.m. for two hours of rehearsal. The group of students enjoy singing and moving to the music. Leroy Smith, the gospel choir director, inspires students during rehearsal to “just have fun” as they sing and move rhythmically to the upbeat gospel music.
“It is like a big family,” Smith said about the gospel choir ensemble.
The ensemble is enthusiastic about their music and gathers around the piano as Smith conducts.
Smith said he is excited about the concert and the music being performed. One of the songs Smith chose is a song composed by Thomas Dorsey, a famous black gospel music artist.
In addition to directing the Hood College Choir Ensemble Smith is a 5th grade elementary teacher in Baltimore County and incorporates his skills from his teaching job into the instruction of the gospel choir.
Smith likes to have his choir rehearse with a high level of energy. The students stretch, clap, dance and move around to help motivate themselves and keep their energy levels up during the rehearsal.
The gospel ensemble rehearses while listening to the other parts of their choir group. The choir members are trained to listen to each other and bring together their vocals in order to produce the best overall sound.
Choir is an activity students have joined in order to make friends and be part of the community.
Connor Asman, a sophomore at Hood College, sings tenor in the gospel choir. He has made friendships while singing in the gospel choir. He enjoys singing on Sunday nights with the rest of the gospel choir family.
Sarah Tapscott joined the gospel choir after a recommendation from a friend. She is also involved with other choral activities at Hood college, including the Hood College Choir.
“I’d definitely say that choirs provide an environment filled with people who love to sing and we can be ourselves.” Tapscott said. “We are like a big family that comes together while doing what we love! I’ve made everlasting friends through choirs here.”
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