Erum Jaffrey
Assistant Editor
As barbershop quartet Make No Mention swiftly unbuttoned their black dress shirts, member Emmanuel Lagumbay accidentally dropped his pants, resulting in hoots and hollers from the audience at the Songs of Remembrance concert Sunday.
Sponsored by ULV Music and Patrons as part of Sundays at the Morgan, the ULV Chamber Singers and Barbershop singers performed a combination of various scriptural sources in English and Latin, paying homage to those who have died.
The evening began with a Requiem of seven movement pieces by the ULV Chamber Singers including “Requiem aeternam,” “Pie Jesu” and “Agnus Dei.”
The requiem was accompanied by a live orchestra with Rachel Huang on flute, Lyanne Dominguez on cello, Cloris Dong on timpani, Gerard Lavatori on oboe, Katelin Heimrick on harp and Shaina Greenswait on glockenspiel.
“Requiem aeternam” had a chant-like tone to it, repeating “Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine” meaning “grant them eternal rest, O Lord,” creating an ethereal mood in Morgan Auditorium.
“My favorite piece was the requiem at the beginning, but I liked how they had upbeat songs with the barbershop performances and then classical pieces as well,” Mason Sustayta, graduate teaching student, said.
Alto soloist for ULV Chamber Singers and sophomore international business major Andrea Mujica performed a graceful solo in “Pie Jesu,” meaning pious lord.
“The solo was definitely one of the best things I’ve ever sung,” Mujica said. “I’m really proud of my progress as a singer, I never knew I could hit those high notes.”
“Once you give yourself the chance to explore your own talent, you have no limitations,” she said.
After intermission, barbershop performances uplifted the atmosphere with various and distinct performances by groups such as Lordsburg Brothers and Sister Notes.
Each barbershop quartet consists of four members that provide vocal variations with their roles as lead singer, bass, baritone and tenor. This variation is what creates harmonies.
The Lordsburg Brothers, the first all male quartet at ULV, consists of Zachary Green as lead, David Vorobyov as bass, Ernie Reyes as baritone and Timothy May as tenor.
The members have slightly changed over the years, but their pitch perfect performances have maintained consistency over time.
Sister Notes, an all girls quartet consisting of Katie Ochoa as lead, Cora Kane as bass, Sarah Alonzo as baritone and Annie Johnson as tenor, sang “When I Lost You” by Irving Berlin, a nostalgic song with lyrics such as “The sunshine had fled, the roses were dead sweetheart, when I lost you.”
Carol and the Belles, an all girls chorus of 19 dressed in sparkly green scarves, sang “Swing Down Chariot,” “Dear Old Dad” and “Irish Blessing” while performing choreography taught by Ernie Reyes.
“‘Irish Blessing’ is the most powerful to me, but ‘Swing Down Chariot’ is more cheerful,” Rebeca Urena, sophomore psychology major, said.
“Since the theme is songs of remembrance, we hope (the audience) can relate to what the songs are saying,” Fiorella Saldonid, sophomore psychology major, said.
Erum Jaffrey can be reached at erum.jaffrey@laverne.edu.
