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Aditi Shekar
Ms. Hathaway
Womens Chorus
25 May 2016
Wake Forest Concert Review
I attended the Wake Forest Concert on Tuesday, May 24. The different groups each had
great qualities in their singing, such as dynamics, diction, rhythm, etc. that made them an
entertaining group overall. All though throughout some pieces there were flaws, their knowledge
on space (in the back of the throat) and music theory in general impressed me a lot as an
audience member. It was a wonderful performance.
The performance started out with The Star Spangled Banner. This was a beautiful
performance for many reasons. First of all, the Advanced Choir had spacious and open vowels.
The singers all had their mouths open in an O shape which sounded like one voice; in unison.
Due to their matching vowel shape, the sound was very synchronized and worked well on stage.
Also, the harmonies in this song were great because they locked together. The harmonies had a
ring to them because once again of vowel shape, leading to a mesmerizing performance. Finally,
the song had smooth dynamics. The crescendos and decrescendos in the piece were gradual and
on pitch. This gave a clean and precise sound. The Advanced Choir had wonderful tone quality,
dynamics, and vowel shape, resulting in a skillful performance.
The Mixed Ensemble and Advanced Men took the stage after the Advanced Choir. They
sang 5 songs. They had good parts and parts that could be improved upon. Starting with
Contante! This song was well done. The group had smooth transitions from one note to the next
and they leaned well on notes. A few things that they could have improved on are the singers
were not all matching in terms of vowels in the song There Will Come Soft Rains. They had
smooth and not-pushed harmonies, but their mismatch in vowels gave a not-so-unified
performance. The song Closer to the Flame was quite good due to unison. The sound was like
one advanced voice and they all sang with motivation so it delivered an enthusiastic
performance. The only thing that could have been improved upon is the boys were a little shaky
at the start. The words werent really audible, but as the song went along the boys sounded firm.
The song Ave Maria was very strong. Even when singing soft, the group had a firm, tight

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stomach, so the sound wasnt weak although the volume was soft. Also, the pitch was accurate,
effecting in a crisp deliverance. One thing to improve upon is the notes slid a little when going
from low to high. The final song Duond Akuru was good because it had nice tone quality. Also,
the breath control was strong, so, the notes didnt waver even when held for a long time. Things
to improve upon are the chorus wasnt always unified so the sound was choppy. Also, at the
beginning the girls drowned out the boys, so dynamics should probably be worked upon. But, the
performance overall was admirable because the vowels, tone quality, breath control, and
enthusiasm shined through the flaws.
The Womens Ensemble performed next. They sang 5 songs all together. Their first song,
Gloria Alleluia, was very nice. The group had great diction and had a good accent when singing.
The diction helped me understand the words and enjoy the show more. The dynamics were
strong but smooth, resulting in a not-rough sound. Things to improve on are they were a little
sharp on the high notes, making them sound shrill. Also, the sound wasnt always unified due to
the pitch not always matching. The next song was Lux Aeterna. Two students played the piano,
which is very unique and great. The dynamics in this piece were impressive due to how gradual
and clear they were. The vowels were also big and open, so due to lots of space, the sound
reflected well in the audience. This performance did have some things to work on. They were too
quiet sometimes although it still sounded strong. Also, the high notes were a little scratchy,
especially the final note. This is probably due to a closed vowel at the high note. Although they
had good vowels, the ending notes got a little covered. But still, it was a nice song. The
Ensemble sang Adoramus te next. This song was sung with big mouths, leading to unison and a
clean sound. Also, the dynamics were smooth. But, this performance did have some grows. The
song sounded a little flat. The top notes were also closed due to a covered mouth. This is

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probably because of the difficulty of singing a high note. The high notes could use more space.
Finally, the posture was a little slouched. Nonetheless, the song sounded good. The 4th song was
On Silver-Tipped Wings. It was great because it was so unified. The harmonies clicked together
and the tone quality was excellent. It was very open and free. The diction was precise and
audible, especially with consonants. The group was determined for this performance. I did not
find any flaws in this song. The last song they sang was called And the Night Shall Be Filled
with Music. This performance was good too because the leaning, slurs, and ties on notes were
very smooth. The one thing to work on is sometimes the harmonies didnt ring/match. Overall,
the Womens Ensemble was splendid because they were very audible, had smooth dynamics, and
were very passionate in their singing.
The 4th group to sing was Harmonic. They were an after-school club that performed at
the show. They sang 2 songs. The first song, Build Me Up Buttercup, was very powerful. The
harmonies just clicked in and all the parts were heard equally. The chorus was on pitch and the
words were audible, giving off a prepared and skilled deliverance. The note Why do you build
me was a little squeaky and closed and could use some more space. But, the ending rang. The
benefits definitely outweighed the one flaw. The 2nd and final song they sang was called
Embraceable You. In this song, the harmonies were just as good as in the first song. On the word
too, the harmonies really matched up. Also, the decrescendo at the end of the song was so
gradual yet strong. These factors really made for an amazing performance. The group Harmonic
was very advanced and knew what they were doing.
The Advanced Choir came back and sang again. They sang 5 songs. One of the songs was
3 different songs together. The first song, Hallelujah, Amen, was very unified. Both the men and
women were together and in unison. This made the song sound very meticulous and pleasant.

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The harmonies worked well together, effecting in a jaw-dropping sound. The phrase Halleluja
was smooth and the phrase Amen was cut-off at the same time by everyone. No part was
louder than the other. I didnt find any flaws in this performance. The next song was Give Me
Your Stars to Hold. The crescendos were very pretty because they were gracious. The vowel
shape was the same for everyone, creating unison. The cut-offs were on time, making the
endings sound very clean and strong. Everyone sang with a meaning. Even though the last note
got squeaky, the power in the singing stunned me a lot. The next song was Three Madrigals. It
was 3 songs together. The song went from strong to soft and back to strong again very elegantly,
making the sound from this part very rich. The notes still had strength when held out. The cutoffs were as great as the last song, giving the same effect as in that song. There was only one
flaw, which was that the notes slid a little. The next song was Flower of Beauty. It was very nice
because there was strength even when the sound was soft. I didnt get much for this performance,
but one thing to work on is posture. Some of the singers were leaning to the side when singing.
Other than that, the sound was great. The final performance from the Advanced Choir was Feller
from Fortune. The singers were on beat for this performance, creating a good flow to the song.
All the notes were on pitch and the ending was very strong. This gave unison to the performance.
The grows were that some students were using their books, which looked unprofessional. Also,
the words werent always audible. Overall, the Advanced Choir was wonderful because the
unison was incredible, the dynamics were strong, and the harmonies were synchronized.
The final performance of the night was from every group combined together. They were
called the Combined Choirs. They sang the song For Good from Wicked. The solos were very
powerful and I could tell the soloists had practiced. The harmonies also were strong and I could
hear them ring. There was no slurring and the cut-offs were on time, which created a crisp sound.

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The vowels were all the same and open, which made unity. The words were very audible too, and
I even sang along! The dynamics were very skilled and graceful, even though there were so
many people singing. The tone quality was rich as well. I did not find even one flaw in this
performance. The ending was so strong and powerful. I got goosebumps from this song. It was
well done.
All in all, the Wake Forest concert was well thought out. The information that the
students had on dynamics, harmonies, vowels, tone quality, unison, etc. gave the performance a
prepared and mastered sound. Most importantly, the students had happiness when they sang,
which gave the performance a genuine feel. I think that even through the flaws, the performance
was great. The show was a bit long and tiring, but the singing was of talent. I enjoyed this
performance and thought that the Wake Forest students entertained the audience well. They did a
good job.