Seattle University’s choir department has been gearing up all quarter for its winter performance, “Holding the Light: A Lenten Prayer Concert,” which will be held March 14.
The repertoire for the winter concert was selected with the Christian season of Lent (the spiritual preparation for Easter) in mind. It focuses on themes of reflection, waiting and dealing with life’s challenges.
With music spanning classical and modern styles, Seattle U choirs have woven together multiple pieces into a historical journey.
Seattle U Choirs is a program of three individual ensembles: University Singers, Chamber Singers and University Chorale.
Their cumulative work from this quarter will be shown at the winter concert in a total of 12 pieces both in the different ensembles and as a whole group.
The director, Leann Conley-Holcom, was joined this winter quarter by Larke Witten, a guest conductor for the Chamber Singers ensemble. Bringing Professor Witten in as a visiting conductor lightened Conley-Holcom’s workload to allow for the addition of a conducting class in her schedule, and exposed choir students to a different teaching approach.
“It’s a real win-win situation. For graduate students to get the opportunity to get to work in a four year setting and also to get that on their resumes. But it’s mutually beneficial. Our students really benefit from learning from more than one teacher, more than one teaching method or perspective,” Conley-Holcom said.
Bringing in visiting directors like Witten can be a great form of networking for the choir department. It brings in ideas and opportunities outside of the Seattle U campus.
Witten started as a private voice teacher in Texas for about 16 years, where she also sang in a professional ensemble and conducted a few small choirs. She then moved to the Seattle area with her family during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I decided I really wanted to be a choir director. So, I applied and was accepted at the University of Washington for their Chorale conducting program. I loved teaching one of their choirs and also got to be an assistant for Chamber Singers at UW. Because of those connections, I was able to get this job,” Witten said.
Witten has been working with the Chamber Singers ensemble this quarter, preparing them with a repertoire of four pieces to perform at the winter concert.
Witten worked to find songs that fit the voices of all the people in the choir currently and came up with doing a historical journey, as the songs guide the listener from the classics of Mozart to more contemporary music.
Chamber Singers will start with a piece by Mozart called “Miserere mei, Deus,” inspired by his first visit to the Vatican and hearing the music in the Sistine Chapel. This will be followed by a short piece in German by Bach, “Zedern Müssen von den Winden.” Then, they will lead to another piece, alongside the other two ensembles, titled “Remembering Home,” by Orin Johnson, combined with the African-American spiritual song “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” which interweaves the ancient and modern oppression and suffering of two peoples.
Witten has enjoyed having the opportunity to conduct and work with Seattle U’s Chamber Singers.
“Every day feels like a privilege. This is my life’s calling and I finally get to do it in this way. It’s a really amazing opportunity and I’m really grateful that Dr. C was able to give me this opportunity,” Witten said.
The Seattle U Choir department is always eager to have more members and encourages any students interested to join the choir community. Students in the program span all disciplines and many majors. The majority of the singers in the choir are not even music majors or minors.
Jaylen Leonard, a second-year international studies and political science major, who’s a part of choir, encourages students to join and come see the winter concert.
“It’s a great community that’s only grown for me. It’s a place that really welcomes everyone and you’re a part of their family. We’re always really there for each other,” Jaylen said.
The concert will be held at Seattle First Baptist Church on March 14, starting at 7:30 p.m.
Each ensemble will perform individually and as a collective alongside their Pianist in Residence, Susan Bloomfield, guest instrumentalist Alna To, who will play the violin, and Sarah Rommel, who will play the cello.
