The cello choir will perform a concert on March 27 at 5 p.m. in Stratton Hall.
In a play on words, the concert will be called March Madness, because it will mainly feature marches. This year’s performance will be cello music only and will not have an accompanist.
The cello choir has nine members: Derek Eilert, Daniel Hudson, Taryn Flower, Anne Smith, Sun Kang, Julie Estelle, Eddie Bowens, Elizabeth West and Karin Labadorf.
The choir typically does one performance every academic year. In addition to performing in the cello choir, several of the members perform in other music groups, including the orchestra.
A cello quartet will be part of the concert. The quartet will be made up of cellists David Eilert, Taryn Flower, Anne Smith and Daniel Hudson.
Dr. Yuri Leonovich, an assistant professor in the Division of Music, organized the concert. “I thought it would be fun to do a concert of marches in March,” he said.
The choir plans to play a variety of pieces including Beethoven’s “Turkish March,” Chopin’s “Funeral March” and several other marches.
Another piece scheduled to be played during the concert is “Arvoles Yoran,” which is a Ladino (Judaeo-Spanish) folk song.
Leonovich considers it as his favorite piece in the concert. “I’ve really wanted to bring this song to the stage ever since I heard it in a Jewish High Holy Day service in Tucson, Arizona, in 2004,” Leonovich said.
The piece is originally sung in Ladino, which is the language spoken in the Spanish Jewish community.
Daniel Hudson, a junior French major who has played cello for nine years, said his favorite piece from the concert is “Funeral March” by Chopin. “I get to play the melody for that one, and there are some really dramatic and tense moments that are really fun to play,” Hudson said.
Karin Labadorf is a sophomore music education major and has been playing the cello for 15 years.
She said the Turkish march by Beethoven is her favorite because it is fairly challenging. “It sounds really cool but also because it gives me something to work on,” she said.
The cello choir has been practicing for this performance since last semester.
Labadorf said these rehearsals are some of her favorite parts about being in the cello choir.
“We work and we get stuff done, but it’s also a time where we can just relax,” Labadorf said. “And there’s a community there. We learn all sorts of stuff that’s related to what we are doing.”
Julie Estelle is a sophomore international studies major. “Being in a group is so very important to the learning process,” she said. “That’s something that’s really important for me to learn—just to be diligent and put the effort in even when it’s small and seems insignificant.”
