BYU-Hawaii Concert Choir performed their Sing Unto God concert on Oct. 18 and featured the Kahuku Vocal Motion and Ko’olauloa Children’s Choir. Concert Choir performed a great range of music from classical, spiritual and Broadway. The performance included choreography and featured soloists. Concert Choir is directed by Michael Belnap and accompanied by pianists Stacy and Scott McCarrey, and organist Ken Webber.
At the start of the performance, the soprano and alto singers filled into the auditorium singing "Praise The Lord," surrounding the audience members and stepping in unison. The bass and tenor singers joined the rest of the choir by entering through the wings of the auditorium.
So Young, a freshman psychology major from Korea, said, “The intro was fresh. I like how the singers came out in a circle around the audience. It was so original, and the dancing and choreography was great.”
The Concert Choir performed musical numbers from the musicals "Sweeney Todd," "Hamilton," and "Hairspray." The choir also sang music from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and more traditional songs from "The Restoration," "Four American Hymns," "Judas Maccabaeus," and "Lamb of God."
The Sweeney Todd sequence included several songs and accompanying scenes that featured Valorie Lafaele, soprano; Jeff Mellor, baritone; Christopher Cornelison, tenor; and Rikki Brady, alto, as soloists. Each individual story line was tied together with the "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd," which also showcased Grant Lingard, baritone, and Tin Kin Lam, tenor, alongside the rest of the choir.
The choir members flooded the stage wearing different colors to perform music from "Hairspray" that included dancing. Singers worke all black for "The Nightmare Before Christmas," dancing animatedly as they creeped up on the audience. Members of the choir performed "Washington On Your Side," a song from the rap musical "Hamilton," with soloists Spencer Grubbe, bass; Cornelison; and Brady rapping and singing.
Sophomore Lexi Neil, a peacebuilding major from Arizona, said, “The performance was captivating. I love all the different costume changes."
Lindsey Anne, a sophomore from Utah studying biomed, said, “These performers are very talented. I really like the the Lord song in the beginning. It was a great way to start the performance. ”
Kristi Krause, a senior from California studying vocal performance who is a soprano in the choir, said, “A lot of time and hard work went into our Concert Choir performance. It felt so good to be on stage with my friends and to have a blast singing and dancing and doing what we love.”
Blaine Lagmolia, a senior from the Philippines studying biomed, said, “I think they worked hard for this performance, it was great. The choir and featured choirs really take the credit for it. It was entertaining and a good length for a concert.”
Sunny Ostergard, a sophomore from Utah majoring in Hawaiian studies, said, “I loved the variety. This choir knows how to master a lot of different styles of music. I feel like a lot of the time, choirs can only do one type, but this had a lot of variety. [It was] very entertaining.”
Writer: Savanna Bachelder