The USingers are Hard at Work!

The University Singers are hard at work on their fall performance repertoire.

Dr. Grace Cho works with the soprano section.

The choir is performing "Belshazzar's Feast," a large choral piece by British composer, William Walton.  (Here's a recent performance from the BBC Proms in England.)

The piece tells the Old Testament story of King Belshazzar of Babylon.  At the outset, the Jews are in exile in Babylon.  When Belshazzar commits sacrilege and uses the Jewish sacred vessels to praise the pagan gods, he is killed, Babylon falls, and the Jews are freed.

This past Saturday, the University Singers had what they call their "Daytreat" - an entire spent rehearsing music.  Pianist Grace Cho lead the choir in several rehearsals. They also split into sections and rehearsed independently.

The Alto II's work on their music.

Let's hear it for the Tenor I's!

Later in the afternoon on Saturday, the choir took a break to participate in a choir-bonding activity. Each choir remember had a list of silly questions to ask other members of choir (i.e. If you were a Crayola crayon, what color would you be?).  The goal of the exercise: help learn names and get to know each other.

Choir members get to know each other through an ice-breaker game.

Get-to-know-you games.

The University Singers are under the direction of Gisèle Becker, with Dr. Grace Cho on piano.  The performance of "Belshazzar's Feast" will be on November 22 at 3 p.m. in St. Stephen Martyr Catholic Church.  All are welcome.  More info here.

#GWMusic on Tour!

It's the Baltics or bust!

Trakai Castle in Lithuania

The GW University Singers and the GW Troubadours (GW's oldest acapella group) announced that they are traveling to Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia on this year's choir tour!

More than 30 choir members will set course for Eastern Europe the day after GW's May commencement. During the 10 day trip, they will perform a series of concerts across the region while also having a chance to sightsee.

Approximately every two years, the combined choir goes on tour.  In May 2013, the choir traveled to South Africa, exploring Cape Town, Soweto, and Johannesburg.  (Check out pictures from that tour here.) Two years before that, the choir adventured to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Baltic States
Photo courtesy: www.worldatlas.com

On this trip, the choir will begin in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, before traveling to Riga, Latvia and ending in Tallinn, Estonia.

Along the way, the group will visit many historic sites, including the Church and Monastery of Pazaislis, which is regarded as a Baroque architectural marvel.  They will see the Hill of Crosses in Latvia, which is a hill (yes, you guessed it!) covered with more than 100,000 crosses.  They'll visit the Trakai Castle.  And the list goes on ... including concert halls and more churches.

The Hill of Crosses

Church and Monastery of Pazaislis, overlooking the Nemunas River

The choir will also spend a day doing community service with an organization that helps foster children in Estonia.

It promises to be an incredible experience!

Supporting a Good Cause in Virginia

GW musicians are very involved in the community, even outside the beltway!

Kevin Frey (the blog's author) and pianist, Neil Weston, performing in Hillsboro, VA.
Photo courtesy: Hillsboro Community Association

Together with GW alumna, Grace Srinivasan, and pianist Neil Weston, I performed a voice recital in Loudoun County, VA over the weekend.  (Please forgive the shameless self-promotion!)

The recital was part of a concert series designed to raise funds to repair the Old Stone School House. About 30 guests attended the event, which also included a dinner, wine tasting, and an art show.

Together, we performed a variety of works ranging from Italian art songs to Broadway favorites, including "All I Ask of You" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera and "Anything You Can Do" from Annie Get Your Gun.

Here's a clip of Grace and me singing "I Don't Need Anything but You" from the musical, Annie:

Here's a view the audience usually can't see.  Check out what the recital looks like from backstage:

Neil Weston and Kevin Frey perform.

And here's the gang that performed:

Kevin Frey, Grace Srinivasan, and Neil Weston.
Photo courtesy: Hillsboro Community Association

Such a fun evening!  And there's more concerts to come, including a violin recital in October and a Christmas celebration in December.  

For information about all the upcoming concerts and events at the Old Stone Schoolhouse, click here.

Freshmen in Action

Rising stars in the music department had a chance to show off their talents in a recital!

Meet the Freshmen Music PSAs!

Freshmen Presidential Scholars in the Arts (PSAs) sang, played piano, trombone, and even organ for a gathering of GW Department of Music faculty and students.

GW awards the Presidential Scholars in the Arts scholarship to students who excel in music, theater, dance, and fine arts.  The annual scholarship of $15,000 is renewable up to four years.  Students must apply for scholarship while in high school. They then audition before GW faculty during the spring of their senior year of high school.

Once at GW, music PSAs participate in ensembles and major or minor in music.

The recital served as an opportunity for PSAs to get to know each other as well as upperclassmen and faculty.

PSA Andrea Dragon is a PSA for organ performance.  She performed "Toccata in Seven" by British composer, John Rutter.

Andrea Dragon performs on organ while Prof. Jeffery Watson looks on.

Madison Sherman sings Etta James.

Madison Sherman, a PSA for jazz voice performance, wowed the crowd with her performance of "Stormy Weather" by jazz legend, Etta James.  Meanwhile, trombonist Peter Reiss showed off his talents with his performance of Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child." Jazz pianist and GW Music professor, Jim Levy, accompanied both on piano.

Peter Reiss on trombone.

And that's just the beginning.  Check out this video highlighting parts of the recital:

For more pictures from the recital, check out the Facebook album here.

#GWRemembers Sept. 11

Each year, members of the GW community gather to remember those who lost their lives on that solemn Tuesday morning in September 2001.

Provost Steve Lerman memorializes those who lost their lives on 9/11.

The campus vigil was started in the years after the 9/11 attack and has been a tradition ever since.

GW faith leaders of different backgrounds offer a united prayer for peace and comfort.  The University Provost offers thoughtful words.  One student tells the story of his father, who was killed. And the university remember the nine GW alumni who were lost during the catastrophic events of that day.

The GW Chamber Choir in dress rehearsal before the vigil.

Music plays a key role in the memorializing process.  It has the power to heal the soul and stir emotion.  It brings comfort and joy.  It is fitting, then, that the GW Department played a role in the vigil.

Interim Chair of the Music Department, Dr. Robert Baker, lead the assembled group in singing the national anthem as members of GW ROTC presented the flag.

Kevin Frey (yours truly) leads the choir in a dress rehearsal.

Later, the GW Chamber Choir performed during the candle-lighting portion of the service.  Senior Kevin Frey (the author of this blog) had the chance to conduct the choir on two pieces.  They were:

• "The Lord Bless You and Keep You" by Peter Lutkin
• "Elie, Elie" by David Zehavi, arranged by Stephen Glass

The GW Troubadours, a campus co-ed acapella group, also performed during what was a rather moving and solemn ceremony.

The GW Troubadours perform during the vigil.

Urinetown: Adding Some Footwork

This week, rehearsals for Urinetown: The Musical got the actors up on their feet.

Choreographer Stefan Sittig lead the cast through several dance rehearsals, where they learned the moves to two of the show's major numbers.

Last week I took you behind the scenes of a music rehearsal for the song "Mr. Cladwell."  This week, they added some footwork to that number.

"Mr. Cladwell" kickline

As you may remember, in the show, Cladwell owns the Urine Good Company (UGC), which regulates toilet use in the drought-stricken community at the center of the musical.  While the poor struggle to make enough money to pay the fee to pee, Cladwell and his cronies live in luxury.

In this song, members of Cladwell's staff kiss up to their boss, celebrating his great wealth and power (which they subsequently also get to enjoy). They compare him to a "toreador" and "god" and also describe him "perfect" yet "unpretentious."

Urinetown cast rehearses "Mr. Cladwell"

The number also serves as a tool to introduce the character Hope, the daughter of Cladwell.  She eventually falls in love with the young revolutionary, Bobby Strong, who tries to take down Cladwell.  As you've guessed ... crisis ensues.

For the number, cast members were required to form a big pinwheel as a cast.  They also did a large Rockettes-esque kickline.  Pretty intense stuff, and yet they learned in under 3 hours.

Check out this video of the big kick-line finale:

Cast members also worked on the "Cop Song," where the audience learns about the fate of those who fail to pay the fee to pee.  Infused with blacklight glowing effects and stage combat, the number promises to delight.

Mr. McQueen tells Hope about the Urine Good Company

The UGC staff surround Mr. Cladwell

Two numbers in, they still have a long way to go, but the cast is off to a good start!

Urinetown is a joint production of the GW Department of Music and the Department of Theater and Dance.  It is directed by Muriel von Villas with music direction by Patrick O'Donnell.  The show runs Oct. 30 through Nov. 2 in the Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre. More info about tickets can be found here.

This is Urinetown!

Rehearsals for the fall musical at GW are in full swing!  With just less than two months until opening night, students began preparing their performance of Urinetown.

Wait, Urinetown?  As in pee?

No, that's not a typo. Urinetown is a musical comedy that first appeared on Broadway in the early 2000s.  A satire, it spoofs other famous musicals, including Les Mis and Fiddler on the Roof, all while making use of potty humor to relay a message about sustainability, overpopulation, and corporate greed.

Sounds like a lot for 90 minute musical, huh?

The magic of Urinetown is that it's not.  With memorable musical numbers, dances, and (dare I say) clever "pee jokes" you can't help but want more when the final curtain falls.

This week, the sixteen-member cast (including yours truly) began music rehearsals. Music director and pianist Patrick O'Donnell met with students individually and in small groups to go over the show's witty score.

Music Director Patrick O'Donnell helps cast members learn their music.

Cast members begin to review ensemble songs.

Below, you'll see a snippet of one song called "Mr. Cladwell." Caldwell B. Cladwell is a wealthy corporate executive. He lives in a community that has suffered a massive, decades-long drought. They are so low on water, community leaders regulate water consumption by forcing people to pay to pee. If they don't, they are sent to "Urinetown" (I'd tell you more, but I don't want to ruin the plot).

Mr. Cladwell's company runs the public bathrooms and regulates that fee to pee, all while he collects tons of profit.

Take a listen ...

Conflict arises in the show when a member of the poor community, Bobby Strong, starts an uprising to take down Cladwell and get rid of the fees.

Patrick O'Donnell leads a music rehearsal.

Daniel Fanelli (Cladwell) and Jonah Bannett (Mr. McQueen) rehearse.

Next week, the cast will begin learning the choreography to "Mr. Cladwell" as well as some other music ... more on that in a later post.

Urinetown is a joint production of the GW Department of Music and the Department of Theater and Dance.  It is directed by Muriel von Villas with music direction by Patrick O'Donnell.  The show runs Oct. 30 through Nov. 2 in the Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre.  More info about tickets can be found here.