The Wayne State College Department of Music conducted an “Evening of Choirs” event on Monday, Oct. 24. An Evening of Choirs is a performance by multiple WSC Choirs and is conducted by Director of Choral Activities, Matthew Armstrong. This year, he was accompanied by his wife, Shelly, who served as a collaborative pianist. The concert was titled “The Gift to Sing,” and featured performances by the Wayne State College’s Chamber Choir, Concert Choir, as well as the Fortis and Lyrica choirs.  

The two central pieces of the concert were the songs “I am Glad,” by Daniel Schreiner and the titular song “The Gift to Sing,” composed by Reginal White.  

“I am Glad,” contains lyrics from “Rhapsody,” a poem by William Stanley Braithwaite, an African American writer, publisher, poet, and winner of the Spingarn Medal in 1918 for his distinguished achievements in literature.  

The second piece, “The Gift to Sing,” also comes from a poem. The poem was written by civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson, and details how song brings joy, especially in the darkest times.  

Senior Libby Aschoff, a member of the WSC Choir, explained the differences between each choral group. The Chamber Choir is a select mixed ensemble, the Concert Choir is a select mixed choir, Fortis contains tenor and bass voices, and Lyrica is sopranos, altos, or treble.  

 This was the first performance of the year for WSC, drawing in large crowds of families and fellow students. 

 “Being the first concert of the year, it’s quite a big event!” said Aschoff “Most of our concerts are actually quite big with the community and many families of the students come to see what new things we learned in such a short amount of time,” said Aschoff. “I would say this year’s Evening of Choirs was one of the best yet. Every year the concert brings its own challenges, but this year the choirs really grabbed ahold of the music and ran far with it! Not to mention, Ley Theatre was so packed we had to send people to watch from the balcony because there was no more seating on the main level.” said Aschoff, “I heard mumbling everywhere about how wonderful the literature and singing was. Though the concert was a success, it’s time to move on to Christmas literature! The choirs never get a break! We are always working to put on amazing concerts for the people that come to see and support us.” 

For more information on An Evening of Choirs or the Department of Music at WSC, go to their page on the WSC website at www.wsc.edu/music.