On the evening of Feb. 24, The Episcopal Church of the Ascension was filled with the voices of Samford’s A Cappella Choir as they performed their Choral Vespers.
The university choir’s Choral Vespers typically take place on the first Friday of every month. Most often, these vespers are held in Reid Chapel, where people gather for an evening of hymns and worship.
That evening, James Strange, professor of biblical and religious studies, preached a homily focused on Jonah titled “The Displeasing Mercy of the Lord.”
Sophomore Noah Myers, a second tenor, talked about the choir’s performance that evening, saying “It went really well, it was good. I’m always impressed with how we’re able to do things without any mistakes, honestly. And I guess it’s really a testament that shows we put in so much work, so we’re able to put out a great product.”
The choir has rehearsed for this most recent performance since the beginning of the spring semester.
“This whole semester has pretty much been leading up to that, so far, with all the music that we’ve been learning,” Myers said. “We rehearse every weekday, and we’ve been getting the music ready and getting it memorized and making sure all the kinks are worked out in it. Making it, you know, you can have the music memorized, but making it more nuanced and interesting and putting the character into it and the emotion of the piece.”
This summer, the choir plans on taking a trip to Europe to perform in competition. Although they compete in these international competitions every other year, this will be the first time in several years the team has had the opportunity to do so due to COVID.
“We’re preparing for that, making sure all the music is memorized, and bringing it to a high caliber to be able to compete with,” said Myers. “We’re using some of the music that we learned last semester, and we’re bringing it to Europe as well.”
Additionally, the choir is preparing for other upcoming vespers this semester, as well as a spring concert on April 20.
Contributing Writer
