Salt Lake Vocal Artists

The first piece that I chose to listen to was “Stars” By Eriks Esenvaldis, which was performed by the Salt Lake Vocal Artists and conducted by Brady Allred. To begin with, the Salt Lake Vocal Artists had a strong connection with their conductor, which made it seamless and easy for them to crescendo and diminuendo when Dr. Allred gestured for certain parts of music to be performed as such. On the word ‘heaven’, they had a wonderful use of the schwa, and did so by breathing in the vowel. The Salt Lake Vocal Artists for the majority of the piece allowed their voices to be open and free. The only exception to this was when the sopranos would reach a high note, and you could tell that their space wasn’t as prepared as it could have been. They also had nice facial and vocal emotions which helped to create the overall feeling of amazement that resonated throughout the entire piece. The next piece I watched was performed by the USC Chamber Singers under the direction of Jo-Michael Scheibe. The piece they performed was called “Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal”, by Paul Mealor. During this piece, the USC Chamber Singers did a nice job of smoothly

Andrew Cane. In this piece, the BYU singers did an excellent job at creating a resonant sound, which allowed them to easily interpret the meaning of the piece to their audience. They also did a fabulous job at creating an easy-flowing sound to this piece. However, the woman’s ‘oohs’ at the begining of the piece seemed quite dark and to be residing in some of their throats. They also missed Dr. Andrew Cane gesturing for them to sing a broader, room-filling sound, which is a pity becuase it would have enhanced the piece. From this perfromance, I learned that eventhough songs should be sung on vowels, the consonants that one chooses to use can help to create a deeper meaning in a piece of