Showcase concert

Enjoy the sounds of Northwestern’s band, choir and various ensembles during their first concert of the 2023–24 school year. The showcase will feature music from the A cappella Choir, Heritage Singers, Women’s Choir, Orchestra and Symphonic Band, and is free and open to the public.

The A cappella Choir will perform four selections ranging from the ancient hymn “Creator Alme Siderum” to “Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye,” an Irish folk song about a young woman who finds her lover unrecognizable after he returns from battle. A highlight of the Heritage Singers’ repertoire is the “William Tell Overture,” one of Rossini’s most beloved overtures transcribed from orchestra for unaccompanied singers.

Stephen Hatfield’s “La Lluvia (The Rain)” will be one of two featured selections by the Women’s Choir, using only a handful of syllables to convey the sounds of rain in the Andes Mountains. The choir’s second piece, “I’ll Never Study” by Paul David Thomas, is based on a satirical poem that tells the story of a woman who found liberation in her study of algebra despite 19th century warnings that women who studied mathematics posed a threat to society.

The Symphonic Band will take the stage with Eric Whitacre’s “October,” a nod to autumn’s beauty through simple, pastoral melodies and lush harmonies. Jan Van der Roost’s “Puszta: Four Gipsy Dances” is named for a vast prairie in Hungary where the Roma people often roam with their wild horses. Each of the four movements is bright and colorful, playing to the flamboyant moods of the nomadic Roma of eastern Hungary.

Other highlights include performances by senior Evan Gutzmer (baritone), winner of the Rowenhorst Vocal Scholarship, and junior Meredith Sundberg (clarinet), winner of the Ritsema Instrumental Scholarship. Cindy Moeller, adjunct instructor in music, will also sing “Ain’t It a Pretty Night” from Carlisle Floyd’s opera “Susannah.”