Meramec joins the St. Charles Community College and Lindenwood University choirs for a philharmonic performance
BY: Tania Robin
Staff Writer
On the evening of March 9, three colleges collaborated in perfect harmony to present a choral performance of
Vaughan Williams’ “Dona Nobis Pacem.”
The Meramec Concert Choir, directed by music professor Jerry Myers, shared the stage with the St. Charles Community College Chamber Choir and the Lindenwood University Choir. The three schools were accompanied musically by the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Robert Hart Baker. The concert took place at Lindenwood University’s J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts.
“Dona Nobis Pacem”, which translates to “Grant us Peace”, was performed in six parts. According to Myers, his choir had limited time to rehearse the performance.
“These students adjusted to the piece fast and quickly picked up on the conductors ques, which was important to the rehearsals for the concert,” said Myers. “I am really proud of the entire Meramec Choir and how dedicated each student was.”
Meramec’s choir has been performing with Lindenwood for years. According to Myers, the collaboration is a long standing tradition between the two colleges.
“Our choir has this opportunity every year to perform at Lindenwood. That way my students have the chance to perform in that type of concert hall and to perform pieces of music they haven’t experienced or worked with yet,” said Myers
Myers called his students’ performance “impressive” and said they surprised him with their ability to tackle a difficult piece of music in such a short time. Many students, said Myers, even asked for extra practice outside of planned rehearsals.
Meramec student Cat Manes performed in the concert. She described herself as “elated” and “honored” to have performed at Lindenwood.
“An orchestral conductor actually has a completely different conducting style than a choir,” said Manes. “I really like that this challenged me as a musician. That and the Lindenwood Choir was extremely talented and we worked really well together.”
The performance was popular, with full audience turn out. Many families and friends were there to cheer on the students. When the concert ended, the entire hall gave a standing ovation.
“The Meramec Choir should be proud of their work and their performance,” said Myers.
Meramec’s spring choir season is not yet over. “Symphony Chaco” will be on April 23 at 7:30 p. m. at UMSL’s Touhill Center. The Choral Chamber Concert occurs on April 29 at 3 p. m. in Meramec’s theater. Both events are free of charge.
