The Brock University Choir blew away a full house with their performance Sing Your Song.
On Nov. 26th, the University Choir presented Sing Your Song, a nine-track performance that brought its audience to their feet. Conducted by Shawn Grenke, the 44-person mixed voice ensemble was comprised of soprano, alto, tenor and bass singers from the faculty, staff and student body.
Shawn Grenke is not the university’s normal conductor, covering for Rachel Rensink-Hoff who is away on sabbatical. Grenke is the Director of Music at St. George’s United Church in Toronto and a Collaborative Pianist with the Elmer Iseler Singers of Toronto. He is also the Artistic Director and Conductor of the 80-voice Achill Choral Society in Orangeville, Ontario. Grenke has appeared in performances all over the world, most notably in Poland, South Korea, Sweden and China. He has travelled all over Canada to perform.
This performance also featured Julia Broomer on piano and Gordon Cleland on cello. Broomer was the music director at Niagara Christian Collegiate in Fort Erie and is now working on growing their program to include award-winning instrumental and choral classes. She now works with the Chorus Niagara Children’s Choir and the Niagara Symphony Music Camp. Cleland is the principal cellist of the Niagara Symphony and the Southern Ontario Lyric Opera. He is also the cellist in the MD3 Piano Trio. Cleland has performed all over the continent but has settled into teaching the art of cello and other string instruments at Brock University and Ridley College.
Sing Your Song featured several impressive young soloists on songs such as “Testimony” and “Loch Lomond.” The program favoured Canadian composers, highlighting the work of Stephen Hatfield, Laura Hawley, Sarah Quartel and Matthew Emery.
While the show moved through a variety of pieces, it chose to specifically focus on the message of one piece called “Testimony.” Composed by Stephen Schwartz, the song was originally written for the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. Inspired by interviews from the “It Gets Better Project,” the song leans into the feelings of self-hatred and despair that are felt by bullied and isolated young people contemplating ending their lives. The song moves through these feelings and ends with a collective assurance from older counterparts that it does get better, and life is worth living. More information about “Testimony” and the “It Gets Better Project” can be found here.
Some of the program’s other standouts were “The Arrow and the Song” and “Loch Lomond.” Both pieces allowed the choir to shine, showcasing their growth and learning throughout the semester. The use of “Wavin’ Flag,” a track written by Somali-Canadian artist K’naan and popularized in 2010 following an earthquake in Haiti, was an interesting addition that allowed the crowd to dance in their seats.
The performance wrapped up with the titular “Sing Your Song,” a beautiful piece that fittingly encompassed the theme of the program as a whole. The Brock University Choir is an outstanding example of vocal excellence. Their program Sing Your Song showcased that all of its members have a bright musical future to look forward to.