While the campus choral department is getting ready to perform in a couple of weeks, a few FC singers are involved in another production at California State University, Fresno.
Freshman Chloe Duerr, sophomore Rachel Quiring and senior Jessica Massie will sing with the Bach Children’s Choir at Wahlberg Hall on Fresno State’s campus, Dec. 4, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
According to its website, the choir “is a performance-oriented music organization” that teaches “the foundations of singing, reading music, and music theory.” In addition, “the choir also offers an enriching social experience in friendships, cultural awareness, and serving the community.”
For the event, the Bach Choir will be split into smaller choral ensembles; the two elder groups, Vivace and the Youth Chorale, will sing nine holiday pieces that are a part of their Christmas concert repertoire.
“This is a concert for kids, so we try to choose music that will appeal to a younger audience,” Valerie Quiring, Bach director, said. “One of our singers’ favorites for this concert is ‘Walking in the Air’ from the movie The Snowman. It’s familiar to a lot of people and very singable.”
Valerie said she looks forward to participating in this winter tradition for the third year.
“We have performed with the Fresno State concert choir at Christmas for the past several years,” Valerie said. “It’s really great to collaborate with other musical organizations, because you get to share your music with each other and also get to share audiences. It’s great for the [Bach] choirs to see the Fresno State choir perform.”
The Fresno State concert choir will also be showing off their prepared opera piece, “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” for this winter event. The opera tells the story of a young crippled boy journeying with the three kings to see Jesus, but it contains a twist.
“I love having a Christmas story that is totally out of the ordinary,” Alex Aleman, ’10 alumna and current Fresno State choral member, said. “I love that we are combining with the Bach choirs that I used to participate in. It really fills out the entire musical showcase that we hope this event will be.”
The singers anticipate an exciting opportunity to collaborate with a college choir.
“I look forward to seeing how their sound is different from a high school choir,” Rachel, Valerie’s daughter, said. “I hope [that] with the opera-style story, versus the story style of years past, we get to hear them sing more.”
After this event, the Bach Choir will present its “What Sweeter Music” Christmas concert at First Presbyterian Church, Dec. 12, at 3 p.m. This concert will include all Bach Choir singers from 1st through 12th grade.
For more information on the Bach Children’s Choir, e-mail Nicole Simes, executive director and accompanist. For more coverage of choral groups, read the Nov. 30 article, Ensembles to present Christmas concert.
