Talent: Johnson, Taylor
Holiday Concert
TRT: 2
minutes 6 seconds
12-12-13
CONDUCTOR LORI WIY-ST LED THE HOLIDAY CONCERT CHOIR AS WELL
AS THE MAD-RI-GAL CHAMBER SINGERS DURING THE HOLIDAY CONCERT DECEMBER 7TH.
THE MAD-RI-GAL CHAMBER SINGERS BEGAN THE CONCERT WITH PIECES
AS “ WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS” DRESSED IN TRADITIONAL RENAISSANCE ATTIRE.
ALL CONCLUDED THE CONCERT WITH A PERFORMANCE OF “ A CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL”.
WEST NOTED THAT,
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ONE OF THE PIECES WAS ACTUALLY “WRITTEN FOR THE CORONATION
OF KING GEORGE II”. THIS WAS CHOSEN BECAUSE IT WAS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE
CHEERFULNESS OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON AND OF NEW BEGINNINGS. WIY-ST EXPLAINED THAT
SHE WANTED TO SHOWCASE PIECES THAT WERE JOYOUS AND CELEBRATORY, BECAUSE OF THE
HOLIDAY SEASON MEANS DIFFERENT THINGS TO EVERYONE.
THE HOLIDAY CONCERT ORIGINALLY TOOK PLACE ON THURSDAY
EVENINGS, BUT WAS LATER CHANGED TO ACCOMMODATE FOR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES THAT
WANTED TO ATTEND AND SEE THEIR CHILDREN PERFORM. THIS CHANGED INCREASED
ATTENDANCE DRAMATICALLY AND HELPED GENERATE MORE AUDIENCE VARIETY. CHILDREN
TWELVE AND UNDER ARE ADMITTED FOR FREE, BUT EVERYONE ELSE IS SUBJECT TO AN
ADMISSION FEE WHICH GOES TOWARDS AND PURCHASE OF MUSIC AND POTENTIAL TRAVELING
FOR THE MUSICAL GROUP. STUDENTS AND SENIORS ARE ADMITTED FOR FIVE DOLLARS AND
GENERAL ADMISSION IS TEN DOLLARS.
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT, CAITLIN SPER-BER
ATTENED THE EVENT.
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WIY-ST ALWAYS LOOKS FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THESE STUDENTS
BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL SO EAGER TO BE A PART OF THE PROGRAM AND BE INVOLVED IN
THE CONCERT.
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Conductor Lori Weist led the holiday concert choir as well
as the madrigal chamber singers during the Holiday Concert on December 7TH
.
The madrigal chamber singers began
the concert with pieces such as “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” dressed in
traditional Renaissance attire. All concluded the concert with a performance of
“A Christmas Festival”.
Wiest noted that, “much of the
performances are not Christmas music, or even traditional holiday music at
all”.
One of the pieces was actually “written for the
coronation of King George II”. This was chosen because it is representative of
the cheerfulness of the holiday season and of new beginnings. Wiest explained
that she wanted to showcase pieces that were joyous and celebratory, because
the holiday season means different things to everyone.
Wiest has had a passion for music
all her life, and began piano lessons at the age of 5 and continued them up
until her undergrad. She initially went to college for chemistry, but later
changed focus to music.
“Weist attended North Dakota State
University and received her Bachelor of Science in Music Education and Piano
Performance.”
She has gone on to having a
successful career in music, later “earning her doctorate in Musical Arts in
Choral Conducting and Music Theory from the University of Arizona.”
She serves on many committees and
is actively involved at Washington State University.
The Holiday Concert originally took place on Thursday
evenings, but was later changed to accommodate for students and families that wanted
to attend and see their children perform. This changed increased attendance
dramatically and helped generate more audience variety. Children 12 and under
are admitted for free, but everyone else is subject to an admission fee which
goes towards the purchase of music and potential traveling for the musical
group. Students and seniors are admitted for $5 and general admission is $10. Also during the concert, a bake sale was put
on in order to provide the audience with refreshments during the intermission.
Again, all proceeds went to the musical group. Weist is hoping for around 400
people to be in attendance as that is what has been seen in the past, and is
usually a pretty good estimate of the turn-out. However, because of weather
conditions and the fact that the concert takes place right before finals week
may contribute to a lack of attendance. However, student at Washington State
University was able to take a break from studying and come to the concert.
Washington
State University Caitlin Sperber fortunately was able to the event and shared
her experienced there with me.
“I heard about the Holiday Concert
from my professors” she said, “I thought it would be a great excuse for a study
break and I just can’t believe that all these talented students are my
classmates.”
There was a lot of preparation that went into putting on a
concert of this magnitude for the university and community collectively. Weist
says almost all the details are planned out prior to the end of the spring
semester preceding the concert, and they purchase all of their music over
summer break. In addition, Weist also explains how important it is to have all
the dates and scheduling planned out completely in order to put it in the
performer’s syllabus at the beginning of the fall semester. Instead of giving a
paper final, the concert is the final piece for these students. Wiest finds
this as a celebratory end to the semester that allows students to be excited
about the holiday season.
Weist always looks forward to working with these students
because they are all so eager to be a part of the program and be involved in
the concert.
The reason being is because “many of the performers are not
music majors at all and come from all different academic backgrounds.”
They all come
together for a common purpose and a love of music. Weist believes that having
students who want to be there is so rewarding because they value the experience
they get as performers and they use music as an outlet to not only express
themselves but to get away from the stresses of their own majors.
