Choir hits high note at auction
A&E Editor
Spain is well-known for its infamous flamenco dancing, but this March Shoreline Community College’s choral program will add their own musical flair to the European country.
Before they can take their spring choir tour, the department is attempting to raise a goal amount of $28,000 through a fundraising auction. The auction was held last Friday, February 10 in the PUB where only a meager showing of faculty and choral program supporters attended. Student presence was sorely disappointing at the event, which featured the fabulous vocals of SCC alumni, Spanish singer Rosa Duarte, and Julliard graduate Charles Enlow on the piano.
Duarte is one of many impressive graduates of SCC’s choir program. Choir-member Chris Mitchell described the tightly knit choral department as having a strong relationship with alumni, with many coming to visit long after graduation.
BRIAN CHACE/EBBTIDE
Cast members of the opera workshop’s production of Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss rehearse the opera. The opera workshop occurs only once a year during winter quarter and features works from such composers as Mozart, Carlisle Floyd, and Giuseppe Verdi. The production features impressive student vocals. The show is produced by Susan Dolacky, who also acts as the music director. The show will be preformed in the campus theatre March 2-4 at 7:30 p.m.
“I don’t know what I would do without the choir. I’ve met so many friends this way; people I know I’ll keep in contact with 10 years from now,” Mitchell said.
The strong relationships of choral members are fostered by events such as the upcoming Spain trip. In the past the choir has also traveled to Ireland. The trek will be a combination of sightseeing and performances from coast to coast, including a stop at a Spanish boarding school where choral professor Robert Bigley has taught over the summer months.
“He’s a professor, but you forget he’s your teacher. He’s more like a friend,” Mitchell said.
Traditions such as Christmas caroling in the Bigley neighborhood also reinforce the image of Bigley as a positive and motivating force of the music department, making Bigley an intensely motivating and fun side of the choral program. With many different skill levels open to students the choral program is an open invitation to create lifelong friends, meet a motivating teacher, and refine musical skills.
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