Union University’s Department of Music will be hosting two events before the end of April featuring their orchestra band and their choral singers.
The first event will be “Music: A Tribute to Broadway,” which will feature numerous songs from famous musicals on Broadway. The event will take place on Thursday, April 22 from 7-8:30 p.m. in the G.M. Savage Chapel in the Penick Academic Complex.
“The concert features the combined Union University Symphony Orchestra and Symphonic Band, totaling 52 members of both music majors, minors and non-minors,” said the orchestra’s conductor, Michael Mann.
There will be many different Broadway musicals represented in the concert, including selections from “West Side Story,” “Les Misérables,” “The Sound of Music” and “Phantom of the Opera.” There will also be performances of hit songs like “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked,” “My Shot” from “Hamilton” and “If I Were a Rich Man” from “Fiddler on the Roof.”
Throughout the event, broadcast journalism professor Steve Beverly will be narrating. A video compilation of Broadway musicals, which will be provided by digital media studies professor Chris Blair, will be playing during the performance. In addition to Union University’s orchestra and symphonic band, Madison Academic High School’s choir, directed by Lindsey Patterson, will also be a part of “Music: A Tribute to Broadway.”
“In my opinion, the band and orchestra ‘extravaganza’ in the spring semester is the most anticipated event of the year, at least to the music students,” said senior music major Clare Little. “It takes so much planning, rehearsal, hard work and dedication. This experience is something I will definitely cherish for a long time. Since the lights of Broadway have been dimmed due to the pandemic, it’s so nice to bring some of its light back to life in this concert.”
The annual Spring Choral Concert will be on Tuesday, April 27 from 7-8:30 p.m. in the G.M. Savage Chapel in the Penick Academic Complex. Union’s choral ensembles will be featured in this concert.
Admission will be free for both events. Students can register online for the Spring Choral Concert or “Music: A Tribute to Broadway” to reserve a seat.
“After not getting to have this big production last year, my freshman year, it’s really wonderful to get to do this,” said sophomore journalism major Jess Bogle. “The music is fun to play, and it’s amazing to get to play with the soloists and choir singing. It adds a whole new intensity to the music, and it makes it more impactful for both the musicians and audience.”
