On Dec. 3, a cool Saturday night, Drew University’s Chorale and Choral Union presented their 2022 Christmas concert titled “Comfort & Joy!”, conducted by Professor Sarah A. Michal and accompanied by Robert Colby-Witanek on the piano. They kicked off the concert season with the beautiful voices of our students, faculty and community members. The two choirs performed music from a number of composers including classic Christmas songs and traditional choral pieces.
The concert ran just under an hour with the Choral Union performing first. Registered as Drew’s MUS 110 class, the Choral Union is the larger of the two choirs and involves community and faculty members performing alongside students. Some of the pieces they performed included “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and the main star of the show: “Gloria in D” by Vivaldi, an almost thirty-minute long piece. The concert highlighted a wide range of soloists across the whole concert, with the Vivaldi piece having the largest selection. The soloists included community member Noël Leuzarder and students Maddie Ortiz (‘24), Brynn McCarthy (‘25) and Cecilia Lomanno (‘26) who all gave wonderful performances.
The smaller but mighty Chorale performed after the Choral Union. Known as the MUS 215 class, Chorale is a student-only choir that performed its own fair share of exciting pieces. With music such as “In the Bleak Midwinter” with soloists Nia Núñez (‘26) and Lucas Shearson (‘24), “Merry Everything” with another solo by McCarthy and even an English Madrigal version of the song “All Star” by Smash Mouth, most known from its placement in “Shrek.”
At the very end of the concert, the two choirs joined together to bid farewell with the classic Christmas song “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” The work that the choir members put into their pieces was apparent as Professor Michal warmly thanked them after a successful concert.
“The concert was the highlight of my weekend!” McCarthy said. “It’s such an honor to get to make great music with such talented people.” The choirs at Drew are open to any music lovers within our community. The choirs are always welcoming new members, and Drew students are able to take either or both of these classes for counted credit or just for fun. If you have any questions about either of the ensembles, you can email Professor Michal at smichal@drew.edu.
Amelia Tirey is a sophomore majoring in history and minoring in political science and music.
