Choir rocks in commons

Students clapped, whistled and cheered as the Lincoln Land Community College Choir brought its Fall Concert to a close. Over 30 people attended the Oct. 24 concert in the A.Lincoln Commons.

“I want people to realize how many talented students we have. Some students don’t even know there’s a choir here!” said SeeTsai Chan, LLCC choir director.

Jasmine Gaspardo, an LLCC student, said she loved the performance and wants to see more choral performances. She said she enjoyed the choir’s version of “Deck the Halls,” with choir member Brandon Hines beat-boxing.

Dave Bourland, music major, agrees.  He said he thought the beatbox rhythm was an interesting update to the Christmas classic.

All choir members come from different musical backgrounds whether they were classically trained or were unable to read music, Chan said.

Soprano Kristen McCubbin, music major, learned to sing in her church choir.  She said, “I grew up in a musical family. Music is a part of me.”

Alto Emily Miller did not.  “In high school,” she said, “I connected better with music than I did with any other class.” She said she likes creating and music provides a creative outlet for her.

“I’m going to be famous and change music back to having a positive message,” said tenor Dajuan Stewart. He was one of two soloists in the concert and plans to continue vocal training after graduation.

Jason Waddell, music professor, said he enjoys the intricacies that go into choral singing which are much harder than singing solo.

“They’re reading music, often times in four parts, sometimes more, sometimes less,” Waddell said. “They only rehearse together as a group for three hours a week and, of course, singing harmony because they’re not all singing the same note.”

Angela Tipsword, a medical assistant, attended the concert on her lunch hour to hear her daughter, Emily, sing alto in the choir. She said the choir’s harmonies were awesome.

Karan Robinson, a music major who was there to write a concert report for his Music Theory III class, said, “I liked ‘Libertango’ the best because it started to wake me up. It gave me a little groove. I’m a dancing person.”

The LLCC Choir plans more concerts, and Chan said she hopes students will look at LLCC’s music program as another creative outlet.

Paul Watson and Ryan Zarillo can be reached at [email protected].