The Collegio Pittsburg's student voice since 1916
The Bicknell Family Center for the Arts is known for hosting a variety of events. Last week, the annual fall PSU Choirs Concert was held on Friday, Nov. 1 in the Linda & Lee Scott Performance Hall.
The concert was presented by the department of music at Pitt State and was directed by professor of music and chair of the music department, Susan Marchant. The concert featured the University Choir and the Chorale.
“Well.., it was our annual fall concert,” Marchant said. “We do one every November around this time… Because the groups are different, they presented diverse repertoire. Some for smaller ensembles, some for larger ensembles. Everything from Renaissance pieces through works that have been written within the last several years. So, that was our objective, to provide a nicely diverse program.”
Senior in mechanical engineering and automotive technology Tim Klinker, who participated in the concert, was excited to perform in the Bicknell.
“It’s always really nice to be able to perform in such a wonderful space such as the Bicknell,” Klinker said. “It truly is a nice, fantastic concert hall. It’s also really enjoyable to see a group of a hundred-ish people come together and work as a team in order to create something bigger than just one person. So, it’s a lot of hard work that goes into it and its very nice to be able to get that performed.”
Sophomore in music education Erica Baldwin said she enjoys music which is why she decided to take part in the Choirs Concert.
“Well, I am a music major, so music is a way for me to relax in my life and… to get away from everything and find my peace,” Baldwin said.
Marchant did well in picking a variety of styles and types of music according to Baldwin.
“Well, I really enjoyed getting to participate because Dr. Marchant does an amazing job with picking a variety of music for us to sing from pieces that are nice and fun for us to dance to… versus pieces that are performed in churches,” Baldwin said. “… She always picks such an amazing variety and it always wows the audience.”
Klinker took a chance on choir and chose to continue with it throughout the rest of him time at Pitt State.
“So, I really haven’t had any choir experience since like eighth grade, the required stuff,” Klinker said. “Through my fraternity (Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia), actually through Brock (Willard), he convinced me to join choir last year and I enjoyed it so much that I decided I’ll go ahead and keep doing it until I graduate. It’s kind of fun. It’s a lot of hard work but it’s nice to see the payoff in things such as the choir concert.”
According to Marchant, the participants of the concert started working “in earnest” after the first performance in September.
“… (I just want to say) how pleased we are to have an opportunity to perform in the Bicknell Center,” Marchant said. “For some students, that was the first opportunity to do that and (it) was a great experience.”