pilipiliĀž»­

 

Now put your hands up...

- March 18, 2010

Members of the Dalhousie Chamber Choir in rehersal (Nick Pearce photo)

It takes awhile before I clue in. But yeah, those lyrics are familiar, even the swagger of the singers. Could members of the acclaimed Dalhousie Chamber Choir really be wrapping their tongues around Beyonceā€™s Single Ladies?

Cause if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it/If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it/Donā€™t be mad once you see that he want it ā€¦

Sung in bombastic, operatic style, the song is performed like an argument between the sexesā€”the womenā€™s voices sweet and high, the menā€™s like low thunder. Single Ladies is a far cry from the choirā€™s usual classical choral repertoire.

ā€œIt started as a bit of a joke,ā€ explains Maria Murphy, a fourth-year music student majoring in voice. ā€œWeā€™ve got this pop concert coming up and we were throwing around crazy song titles when Single Ladies came up. We didnā€™t actually think heā€™d do it.ā€

ā€œHeā€ is Gary Ewer, director of the Dalhousie Chamber Choir. He arranged the song ā€œas if Schubert or Brahms had composed it,ā€ he explains, during a break in rehearsals. ā€œWeā€™re having a bit of fun; itā€™s presented as a spoof.ā€

WHAT: Body & Soul, a concert of jazz, folk and pop standards by the Dalhousie Chamber Choir

WHEN, WHERE: Friday, March 19, 7:30 p.m. at St. Andrew's United Church, corner of Robie and Coburg, Halifax. Saturday, March 20, 7:30 p.m. at Grace United Church, Ochterloney Street, Dartmouth.

HOW MUCH: Tickets are $15 and $10 (students/seniors), available from the Department of Music or at the door.

The Dalhousie Chamber Choir is comprised of 22 Dalhousie students, mainly voice students in the Department of Music. The choir performs two concerts a year, in the fall and spring.

The next concert, Body & Soul, will be performed on both sides of Halifax Harbour: at St. Andrewā€™s United Church in Halifax on Friday, March 19 and at Grace United Church in Dartmouth on Saturday, March 20. Besides Single Ladies, other songs on the program include Light My Fire by The Doors, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, A Groovy Kind of Love and an arrangement of the Mika song Any Other World by student composer Michael Robson.

ā€œThese students are such good vocalists that you can expect a high level of performance from them,ā€ says Mr. Ewer, who teaches aural perception and music theory at pilipiliĀž»­. He also directs the Dalhousie Coro Collegium, a much larger choral ensemble comprised of students and community singers. ā€œItā€™s such a pleasure working with them.ā€

The respect is mutual. ā€œHeā€™s pretty enthusiastic. He likes to joke around but heā€™s serious when he has to be,ā€ says Ms. Murphy, from Saint John, N.B.

ā€œAnd anyway,ā€ she adds with a laugh. ā€œItā€™s been fun to hear him say, ā€˜OK, take it from ā€˜Iā€™m up on him, he up on me.ā€™ā€