Category: Music

In the spirit of Halloween, students in the school of Music, Theatre, and the Dance hosted a performance in the uppermost room of the Lurie Tower on North Campus. As I was initially walking toward the tower, I heard the Game of Thrones theme echoing across North Campus. How I wish I could hear that every single day on my commute to classes! The sound was magnificent, the carillon is the ideal instrument to perform songs that demand a certain energy level. Game of Thrones on a piano is cool, but Game of Thrones on a carillon is as it should be: epic. I first was given a tour and history of the tower and carillon itself.

The Ann and Robert Lurie Tower was built as a dedication to alumni Robert Lurie, courtesy of a generous donation from his wife after his passing. The carillon housed within the tower is a grand carillon, meaning it has over 60 different bells. Another grand carillon is incidentally located on Central Campus, in the Burton Tower. This grand carillon allows for a wide variety of songs to be played, which may explain why I am sometimes fortunate enough to hear a Harry Potter theme being played on the Burton Tower.

Students that had been trained in the grand carillon lined up and played a selection of eerie songs, and I was incredibly impressed at how well they seemed to nail each song. The songs were executed perfectly, despite the only method of performing being hitting different wooden rods with their fists. Seriously, that is how one plays a carillon. I wished for a program, because there were a few songs I didn’t know off the top of my head and would have liked to have a name for.

The tower was decorated for the Haunted House that was to take place there later that evening, which added to the effect already given by the Halloween-esque music. Being a huge fan of fantasy, I was thrilled to hear some of my fantasy favorites being played including Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, and a song from a Tim Burton film. I was incredibly glad I went and I highly recommend it for others should the students put on another performance on the carillon. It’s an underrated instrument — especially being that two grand carillons exist on this campus — and for anyone who enjoys movie scores as I do it is a great opportunity to hear them in a truly eerie and epic setting.

photo credits to: campusinfo@umich.edu & events@umich.edu

Walking out of Hill Auditorium, I couldn’t believe I’d never been to the University of Michigan Women’s Glee Club before. Their show on Friday was a fun mix of classic choral scores, Disney music, and school spirit! I will definitely be attending some of their concerts next year! Audience members at Friday’s show also got to hear songs that they will be singing later this summer in a tour to Florida that, yes, includes Disney World!

The first half of the performance focused on the more classic choral pieces. These songs really showed off the strength and range of the choir’s voice. “To Be Sung on the Water” was a beautiful piece and the women’s voices sounded like they were gliding peacefully through the very water they sang about. “The Seal Lullaby” also made an appearance, which is often the staple of many female choirs. The music is beautiful but can be tricky because it features a lot of “oooh”ing instead of words, so vowel formation has to be spot on. In the hands, or should I say vocal chords, of the Women’s Glee Club though there was nothing to worry about and they performed this classic with an air of sweet energy. “Chindia,” the last song the Club performed in the first act, was upbeat and lively. The rest of that act had been slow, and beautiful, pieces and as an audience member I would have liked to see more variety in the tempo of the pieces selected.

Just before intermission the Glee Club filed off and Midnight Blue treated us to a few songs. Midnight Blue is an a cappella group made up of some of the members of Women’s Glee who get together and sing on their own. Their selection of pieces included pop songs, a mash-up, and a song sung in the barbershop style. This combination made for a perfect set-up for the second half of the Glee concert.

The second half featured some Disney music along with some good old school pride. Leading off was “Eatnemen Vuelie” which is featured as an opening number in Frozen. This song received immediate recognition from the audience; part of their excitement could also be that this song featured Ellen Cealey on the drum which added to the fun! For their Disney Princess Medley, each princess song had props that the Glee members used such as bubbles, streamers, and sheets. This was only mildly successful as some club members were better at incorporating them than others; but I have yet to see a choir use props in a way that I love. To honor their seniors, during the song “Seize the Day,” seniors stood in the a group at the front of the stage. I thought this was a nice tribute and a creative way to frame the song. They even had coordinated movements, which were very together!

Closing the concert, they had a series of songs promoting the UofM school spirit. Some of them I hadn’t heard before! Alumni that were in the audience were invited onstage to sing these songs and I enjoyed that touch. It was nice to see multiple generations of Women’s Glee Club members singing together and a great way to end a wonderful concert!