By: Maddie Kamler and Emma Morelli
On a rainy, cold Monday afternoon, the Hastings College Choir, donned in the Hastings College colors, walked into the white and blue gymnasium of the Saint Cecilia Catholic Middle and High School. With a small piano in front of them and arranged in two arched rows, the College Choir performed their repertoire in front of the student body of Saint Cecilia’s on Nov. 18.
As the Hastings College Choir prepared for its performance at the Nebraska Music Educators Association Conference on Nov. 21, part of the preparation involved singing in spaces new and unfamiliar to the choir. One such space included the gym at Saint Cecilia’s school, an event that had a particularly special meaning to it.
The director of the HC Choir, Dr. Brett Epperson, and first-year student, Michaela White, a member of the choir from Woodland Park, Colo., weighed in on the significance of the event not only for the singers, but also for the students and faculty of Saint Cecilia’s.
“This is a big week for music in the Catholic schools because the feast day of Saint Cecilia is this week, and she’s the patron saint of music,” Epperson said.
Having the HC Choir perform music in a space dedicated to another music lover assisted in the enhancement of music education in Saint Cecilia’s this week. This performance also helped in the forging of a powerful relationship between the school and the college.
“I think the more connections we have between the college and the community the better,” Epperson said.
Among other things, White thought the event helped the college be a more recognizable part of the city. “It allows other people to understand why music is important. I think it also brings a community together, and the choir is a big thing that the college uses to advertise,” she said.
This event also gave the choir an opportunity to perform in a very new space with little to no previous practice.
“It was helpful for the choir to have experience performing in a new space, and to be able to go through our whole performance set,” Epperson said.
White agreed. “We haven’t had too many performances thus far this year, so I think any performances we can get in will help prepare us. It also eases the anxiety surrounding performances a bit,” she said.
As for what the students of Saint Cecilia’s gained from the performance, Epperson expressed hope for their view of music. ”I hope maybe those that didn’t grow up with a love of music are more open to it, more open to pursuing it. And for everyone there, I hope that some component of our music making brightened their day.”