By Danielle Barnes | Echo
This Friday, the Taylor music department trades romance and passion for nostalgic, award-winning melodies in its Oscars-themed performance.
The Taylor Sounds' Valentine's Day dinner performance has been a tradition for years. This year, however, the music department is collaborating with the Dining Commons to present the dinner as a benefit banquet in support of the Chorale's spring mission trip to Greece.
JoAnn Rediger, music professor and director of the Chorale ensemble, has been working with student officers, the choir's leadership team of five upperclassmen, to produce a performance that incorporates dance, humor and song.
"Two weeks into the semester is a lot of pressure on this group to put an entire program together, but they can do it," Rediger said. "We brainstormed what kind of music would be engaging and fun for the students to perform."
The diverse song list includes familiar tunes such as "Over The Rainbow" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight." Both Chorale and Sounds will provide a variety of musical numbers. The Chorale will also be splitting into smaller groups for several numbers conducted and led by students Lee, Koons and senior Becca Jackson.
The evening will model the Oscars, presenting a past year's nominees, leading into performances of the winning numbers. Chorale seniors Taylor Eaton and Chavandra Clark are excited to reenact such a renowned event.
"We're treating it like a red carpet event. The girls are going to be in their fancy dresses and the guys will be in their tuxedos," Eaton said. "The whole thing is a show, so even when people who aren't singing are sitting down, they're still going to act scenes out."
This will be a rare opportunity for Chorale to escape their organized rows and windows.
"I'm excited about the freeness of the concert," Clark said. "It's always nice when we don't have to be contained in lines watching our conductor the entire time, and I love it when we get to add our personal style to our performances."
The concert is currently sold out, but Rediger is hoping to share the Oscar Night experience with Taylor students at a similar event later in the semester.
Oscar Night will take place on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Hodson Dining Commons Alspaugh rooms.
