On Saturday, April 6, Wheaton’s chorale group put on a concert with Skylark, a Grammy Nominated Voice Ensemble. The spring weather complimented the beautiful voices that rang out in Cole Memorial Chapel on Wheaton’s campus. The Wheaton College Chorale and Chamber Singers began Saturday afternoon’s concert with their own performance of eight songs with pieces by composers ranging from George Frideric Handel to Langston Hughes and several love stories. At the end of their portion, Wheaton invited the alumni of the Chamber Singers to join them on stage to sing a song from years past. Wheaton truly poured out beautiful music.
After a brief intermission, Skylark took singers took the places of Wheaton’s singers on stage. Skylark travels the country performing their amazing ensembles of music. Not only have they toured the country, but they have also been to London to perform in the UK choir Tenebrae’s Holy Week Festival. Skylark has garnered international praise, and their music consistently reaches the Top 10 of the Billboard’s Traditional Classical Chart. It is a great honor to have had them here at Wheaton to sing with our students. Skylark’s performance combined music and visual art. Pairing pieces of artwork with music either from the same time period or that reflect upon each other, the artistic director Matthew Guard asked the audience to focus on the art pieces that were presented to them in order to have a deeper appreciation for both the music and the art. It is clear that the singers of Skylark are beyond talented vocalists, as they sung out the different songs, and Mr. Guard directed them beautifully. At the end of their portion of the concert, much like Wheaton invited its alumni up, Skylark invited Wheaton’s Chorale and Chamber Singers up to sing together one last song. Sydney Murphy ‘21, a member of the Wheaton Chorale, said of her time working with Skylark, “Having the opportunity to sing with the Skylark Ensemble has been an amazing experience and I feel very fortunate to have sang with them and learned from their coaching!” Beautiful music sung by talented singers abounded that sunny spring day and Wheaton and Skylark delivered a concert that anyone could have found enjoyment in.