Chamber Singers to represent ECU, US at prestigious competition in Germany
East Carolina University’s select auditioned choir will take its seat at a world-class table this summer at the International Chamber Choir Competition Marktoberdorf in Germany.
ECU’s Chamber Singers earned the invitation last fall after a lengthy, job-like application process. The group is about 30 singers strong, comprising mostly music majors. During the June 6-10 festival and competition, they will perform pieces in two rounds of competition, and in multiple concerts with other choirs from Latvia, Indonesia, Mexico, and elsewhere around the globe.
“There’s no other international recognition we could get that’s higher,” said Dr. James Franklin, the Chamber Singers’ director. “Just being selected really speaks volumes.”
To Franklin’s knowledge, this is the choir’s first Marktoberdorf invitation, and he has built a culture of travel into the group in his time at ECU. The Chamber Singers typically travel at the end of each academic year, attending conferences and competitions of various distances from Greenville.
Franklin builds the trips so all the singers can afford to attend. Every singer will attend this summer’s Germany trip, in part with support from the College of Fine Arts and Communication, School of Music, and Office of the Provost.
The soprano section of the ECU Chamber Singers rehearses with the group as they prepare for an international competition in Germany this June.
Sophomores Bella Athy, an alto, and Aria Westley, a soprano, will travel internationally for the first time for the competition. The two attended Holly Springs High School together and are excited for this opportunity.
Chamber Singers group The ECU Chamber Singers pose together wearing ECU clothing. (Photo provided by James Franklin)
“It’s a once in a lifetime experience to hear other choirs from around the world, who are the best of the best,” like the Chamber Singers, Westley said. “It’s an exciting experience to be able to sing alongside them, but also just see their difference in sound.
“I’m more excited for that aspect. It’ll be cool if we even have a chance of winning.”
The two also look forward to the potential inspiration they’ll gain from other choirs, and how that might enhance their own group.
“If we listen to what a choir does and we really like that, maybe we could try that and see how we sound,” Athy said.
Westley, a music therapy major, is in her first year with the Chamber Singers. Athy, a music education and vocal performance major, is in her second. With rehearsals every weekday on top of other classes and activities, they also look forward to seeing more of the world, sightseeing, and enjoying German food and culture.
In the meantime, Athy said the weeks are “flying by” as the singers prepare their competition program for the global stage. They recently received the compliment that they have a “deeper, lifted tone,” which can be a challenge for American singers.
“We work really hard for that,” Athy said. “As Americans, our diction isn’t the best. I think these past few weeks we’ve worked really hard on not being sharp or flat with our vowels.”
The women differ on their favorite program piece. Westley loves the Mervyn Warren spiritural “I Ain’t Got Long to Be Here” — which they both described as a “bop,” or a catchy tune — and Athy quickly said her favorite is a piece composed by Benedict Sheehan, who has composed for the ECU singers before.
“It’s just really meaningful,” Athy said.
Another piece in the program is Claviante Brilioso by Thomas Jennefelt, heard here at 19:30. Franklin has taught the piece several times and said it sounds slightly different each time because the text is composed of “vocables,” words used for their sounds, not their meaning.
“It’s fun to teach, it’s fun to conduct, it’s fun to sing,” Franklin said. “It’s what you might call a ‘bop.’ If you don’t understand the text, it’s okay, because it doesn’t mean anything.
“It’s nice to sing meaningful text. It’s also nice to find a way to inhabit the music.”
Franklin and his singers have a mutual respect for each other. Athy and Westley said his direction will set them up for success in Germany.
“We have so much respect for him,” Athy said. “He leads rehearsal and we respond so well to him.”
Westley said the choir can be like a job, which makes the group serious about it and want to perform well, for themselves and for Franklin.
While the students said Franklin’s outward praise of the Chamber Singers is rare, he called them a “really fine group” and said they can hold their own on stage.
“If they perform their absolute best they could place,” he said of Marktoberdorf. “They don’t know how good they are.”