On Friday, Oct.22, students and visiting parents will gather in Cordiner Hall to hear musical performances from Whitman’s academic, credit-based ensembles at the annual Fall Sampler Concert. This year’s sampler will also serve as the first public performance for the newest additions to the music faculty-showcasing the melding of the new and the old student and faculty members of Whitman’s department of music.
The sampler will feature Chorale, Chamber Singers, Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Combo and Wind Ensemble. Each group will perform a small selection from their repertoire, giving the audience a taste of the sound they would produce at one of their larger and more focused concerts.
The concert will open with two pieces from the vocal ensemble Chorale, directed by Adjunct Associate Professor of Music and Whitman alumna Danielle Warner. Warner, who participated in the Fall Sampler Concert as a student, now has the opportunity to see what it is like on the other side of the stage as a conductor. Warner chose songs that represent the various styles and tones the Chorale is able to perform.
“We are performing ‘Salmo 150’ by Ernani Aguiar, which is fast and uptempo and lively and loud and powerful, and then we have a really sensitive song: ‘Never Seek to Tell Thy Love,'” said Warner.
Walla Walla High School’s choir director, Norbert Rossi, arranged the piece “Never Seek to Tell Thy Love” by drawing the material from a poem by William Blake.
“[It’s] great [that the chorale is performing this piece] because he is a member of the community, and I just think it’s really important to showcase local composers when we get the chance,” said Warner.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Jeremy Mims will direct the Orchestra and the Chamber Singers in their first public performance of the year.
“I’m very excited; both groups are doing a great job, and it’s going to be exciting to actually perform,” said Mims.
Chorale and chamber singer senior Jackson Maberry believes students have embraced the new professors and does not believe the changes in staff will affect the objectives of the sampler.
“It’s a new scene in terms of who’s doing what, but it’s a really old tradition. It’s been going on a long time, and I’m sure will continue for as long as there is music here,” said Maberry.
The concert will end with performances from the Jazz Ensemble, led by Whitman professor of 22 years David Glenn.
“Jazz Ensemble is a particularly good band this year,” said Glenn. “We will be playing one straight-ahead swing tune and a salsa Latin jazz piece to close out the program.”
The Whitman Fall Sampler usually draws a large crowd, due to the opportunity to hear a varied mix of students perform as well as the fact that it’s scheduled for Parents’ Weekend.
“The point of the event is to be another opportunity for people around campus to hear their peers performing in a music environment, and also for the parents to see among all the things their students are going to have access to, they also have access to a really rich musical program,” said Maberry.
