2008 Woodie Awards
Lakeland's Choirs and Band Open Their Concert Season
Fine arts success resonates through the Bradley Building
Johanna Schwenzig
Issue date: 11/6/03 Section: Arts & Entertainment
The Lakeland College choirs and band held their annual fall concert this past Sunday. The concert began with the "Lakeland College Alma Mater" and then it was Frauenchor's time to shine. Their program included four songs, all of which were sung beautifully. After Frauenchor, the Concert Choir took the stage and sang spirited gospel songs and a song from "Les Miserables" called "One More Day." Sophomore Alan Grulkowski sang "Stars"from "Les Miserables" as a solo piece.
The audience was left cheering, and one woman even gave a standing ovation in appreciation for the eclectic music chosen for the performance.
Dr. Bechen, assistant professor of music,and Janet Herrick, associate professor of choral music, put a lot of thought in deciding which music to use for this concert.
"It boils down to what the kids can do and do well in the time we have to prepare it and what will appeal to the audience," said Bechen.
For the choir, Herrick said, "Frequently I choose music because I like it and for this concert I chose Moses Hogan music on purpose to celebrate his life. I chose different music for Frauenchor because I knew they were going to be really good and I was right; people were extremely complimentary."
"When I spoke at the beginning of the concert, I said this concert was going to represent past, present, and future. It was wonderful to have Carra-lynn Cogner Edson and her father here, which was very special. So we had those two people from Lakeland's past. And obviously Dr. Bechen spoke of the future, so it was quite thrilling. And there was also a very good audience. But all of the groups performed very well and we are proud of everyone," added Herrick.
"I was very confident in the student's abilities to sing well," Herrick said, "The audience response was great and the crowd size was a pleasant surprise."
The fall concert was the first one of the year; it featured many new performers and was Bechen's first concert here at Lakeland.
After the choirs sang, Bechen proved to the audience that the band knows how to rock. They played the "Star Spangled Banner" and "Emblem of Unity," but they also made room for "Hello, Dolly!" and "Washington and Lee Swing."
"I came to Lakeland to teach because I like the small college atmosphere, and I also like the challenge of building a band program," Bechen remarked.
Bechen added, "I like it here a lot. I like the fact that I can get to know a lot of people outside of my department. In bigger schools things tend to be more segregated because people are so busy. I feel I can be aware of what is going on around campus more."
"The band program is off to a great start, but we still need more students in the band. Particularly trumpet, saxophone, and horn players, but we will take anyone who wants to play," said Bechen.
The concert was an eclectic preview of what is to come from the music department. All of the students involved did a great job.
The audience was left cheering, and one woman even gave a standing ovation in appreciation for the eclectic music chosen for the performance.
Dr. Bechen, assistant professor of music,and Janet Herrick, associate professor of choral music, put a lot of thought in deciding which music to use for this concert.
"It boils down to what the kids can do and do well in the time we have to prepare it and what will appeal to the audience," said Bechen.
For the choir, Herrick said, "Frequently I choose music because I like it and for this concert I chose Moses Hogan music on purpose to celebrate his life. I chose different music for Frauenchor because I knew they were going to be really good and I was right; people were extremely complimentary."
"When I spoke at the beginning of the concert, I said this concert was going to represent past, present, and future. It was wonderful to have Carra-lynn Cogner Edson and her father here, which was very special. So we had those two people from Lakeland's past. And obviously Dr. Bechen spoke of the future, so it was quite thrilling. And there was also a very good audience. But all of the groups performed very well and we are proud of everyone," added Herrick.
"I was very confident in the student's abilities to sing well," Herrick said, "The audience response was great and the crowd size was a pleasant surprise."
The fall concert was the first one of the year; it featured many new performers and was Bechen's first concert here at Lakeland.
After the choirs sang, Bechen proved to the audience that the band knows how to rock. They played the "Star Spangled Banner" and "Emblem of Unity," but they also made room for "Hello, Dolly!" and "Washington and Lee Swing."
"I came to Lakeland to teach because I like the small college atmosphere, and I also like the challenge of building a band program," Bechen remarked.
Bechen added, "I like it here a lot. I like the fact that I can get to know a lot of people outside of my department. In bigger schools things tend to be more segregated because people are so busy. I feel I can be aware of what is going on around campus more."
"The band program is off to a great start, but we still need more students in the band. Particularly trumpet, saxophone, and horn players, but we will take anyone who wants to play," said Bechen.
The concert was an eclectic preview of what is to come from the music department. All of the students involved did a great job.