Masterworks: a choral masterpiece

Chelsea BrandweinStaff WriterAs Masterworks 2011-goers entered Barnum Hall on Tuesday, March 29, they were greeted with a bright fuchsia backdrop and two multicolored bouquets sitting center-stage.A sextet including senior cellist, Evan Kahn, Samo alum, violinist, Connor Vance, and several professional instrumentalists, spoke in hushed tones and checked their tuning on stage, eagerly awaiting the commencement of the show that featured George Frideric Handel’s Chandos Anthem No. 11 “Let God Arise” and Joseph Haydn’s “Missa in Angustiis “Nelson Mass.”The performance was a collaboration of the Samo Madrigals Ensemble, Samo Chamber Singers, the Chorale of Samohi Choir, the Samo Chamber Orchestra, and an exclusive number of Samo band students.The show also featured four guest performers: Soprano, Harriet Fraser; Mezzo Soprano, Leslie Inman; Tenor, John St. Marie and Bass, Steve Pence.When conductor and Samo Director of Vocal Music Jeffe Huls raised his baton and gave the downbeat, six musicians began Handel’s Sonata from Chandos Anthem No. 11 “Let God Arise.” For the next movement, a sea of black and white flooded the stage as the Chamber and Madrigals choir joined in for seven movements.After a brief intermission, a group composed of all three choirs, the Chamber Orchestra, organ player Roger Daggy and the four guest singers lit up the stage again. Binders raised, the choir echoed back after guest performer Harriet Fraser brought forth a moving line. Halfway through the forty minute piece the Chamber orchestra made minute tuning adjustments before Huls gave another downbeat, summoning the choir. With his hand raised, he mellowed the choir to a medium forte as they handed off the melody to a soloist. With the final note and Huls’ cutoff, the audience rose to its feet to shower the Masterworks performers with applause, accompanied by a standing ovation.cbrandwein@thesamohi.com