Smiles, laughs, claps and attentive silence were all reactions from audience members who attended the Winter Choral Concert 2008 on Saturday. As they watched from within the darkened auditorium, the lights on stage seemed dim in comparison to the brilliant college talent.

Slideshow Media Credit: Richard Kontas

The auditorium main stage housed the college choir, directed by Jayne Campbell and accompanied by Brian Hanke, as well as the vocal pops and commercial voice ensemble, directed by Charles Ion and accompanied by Robert Gates.

More than 200 audience members listened to various pieces including opera vignettes, sung by the most expressive singers.

Opera vignettes began with Derik Dermegerdichian, expressing through voice the desolation of “Core ‘ngrato,” a song about an unappreciated and heartbroken man.

After claps subsided and the show continued, the melodically vibrant voice of Rachel Robinson-Staib captivated the audience as she sang “Vedrai Carino” from “Don Giovanni.”
The heartwarming words: “I adore you, eyes, darts of love; your sparks are welcome in my breast. My sad heart, which calls you its dearly beloved in every hour, longs for you to be compassionate,” sung by Joy Chen in Italian, could not capture the beauty of her moving presentation that followed.

The three tenors, Dermegerdichain, Arman Manoukian and Greg Lewis, were an audience-favorite, causing laughter by their comical attempts to surpass each other vocally.

The performance brought the audience to a standing ovation, clapping as the song came to an end, expressing their desire to hear more.

“They stole the audience’s hearts,” said Terese Persson about the three-tenor performance.

Emotions fluctuated and filled the vibe of the auditorium throughout the night as different pieces were sung.

Faces were visibly saddened with “Nobody Knows (The Trouble I’ve Seen),” one of the most powerful pieces of the night, sung by Lewis and accompanied by the choir. As the song came to an end, audience members could be seen wiping the tears from their eyes.

The mood was gradually lightened by the closing piece, “Turn the World Around,” which assembled the chorus together again to finish the show in a positive spirit.