In the Grand Hall of the Martin Center, ETSU Chorale took the audience on an adventure, exploring what happens when a person falls asleep.
“Journey as we explore into a night,” said Dr. Alan Stevens, the director of ETSU’s Chorale and conductor of the show. “Let our minds explore places of sleeping, dreaming and meditating.”
On March 24 at 7:30 p.m., Chorale performed an arrangement of different music about dreams, nightmares and ideas.
The music performed was “There Will Be Rest” by Frank Ticheli, “Dark Night of the Soul” by Ola Gjeilo, “Water Night” by Eric Whitacre, “Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine” by Eric Whitacre, “Adagio for Strings, Opus 11” by Samuel Barber, “My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord” by Black Spiritual and Moses Hogan, “Luminous Night of the Soul” by Ola Gjeilo and “Awake My Soul” by Elaine Hagenberg.
The performance played on the idea that music is the best way to describe dreams, instead of words. “When words fail, music is the best explanation,” said Stevens.
Each song had a story with it. For example, “My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord” was about the anchors that holds people steady in dreams, as Stevens stated. He also emphasized the importance of both nightmares and dreams.
“Some dreams are not pleasant,” said Stevens. “Nightmares shake us to our core.”
The ETSU Chorale consists of Kailee Amburgey, Myla Anderson, Shane Austin, Austin Barrett, Molly Blackburn, Gracie Blaylock, Nathan Clepper, Lindsay Flewell, Mattalyn Fouch, Lidia Frangella, Katelyn Gabler, Seth Gilstrap, Dawson Henry, Abraham Hooks, Adam Hybarger, Ethan Inscore, Molly McGill, Addison Myers, Cora Oliver, Taylor Phillips, Kyah Powers, Christian Price, Katherine Rains, Elijah Reid, Joshua Richardson, Justin Smith, Camden Smolter, Gabriele Stoll, Abbey Townsend, Ellie Walters, Aidan Wolfe and Olivia Zimanek.
The faculty strings accompanied for some songs. The artists were Dr. Marianna Prjevalskaia on piano, Kelsey Philbrick and Jonathan Lugo on violins, Dr. David Kovac on viola, Dr. Sean Hawthorne on cello and Erin Raines on rehearsal piano.
The soloists were Kateyn Gabler, Myla Anderson, Katherine Rains and Christian Price.
Before the performance, Stevens acknowledged the sponsors and technicians with the Martin Center.
The show had graphics behind Chorale to tell the story of the music, including pictures of sunsets and sunrises.
At the door, the ETSU Music Department had more information about the department and a donation bucket for audience members to participate in.
On Chorale’s official ETSU Instagram, Cora Oliver interviewed many of the members about their favorite pieces, including Taylor Phillips and Justin Smith. The majority of the interviewees preferred “Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine” as their favorite song to perform.
The next Chorale performance will be “Sonus” on April 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the Grand Hall.
For more information, visit the ETSU Chorale social media. Their Facebook is @ETSUMixedChorale. Their Instagram is @ETSUChorale. Their TikTok is @ETSUChorale.
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