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Printer-Friendly ModeChoir joins Bay Chorale for weekend Bach performances
April 10, 2006 —
The SVSU Concert Choir, along with the Bay Chorale, performed Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" Friday night and Sunday afternoon this weekend. Friday night's performance was at St. Mary's Cathedral in Saginaw and Sunday's performance was put on at St. Mary's Church in Bay City.
"The choir has performed with the Bay Chorale many times," explained choir director Eric Nisula. "The groups usually perform together at least once a year."
The "St. Matthew Passion" was written by Johan Sebastian Bach in 1727. The first performance of the "St. Matthew Passion" was on Good Friday of that year, performed by Bach himself. Since the piece describes the suffering of Christ from the time of the Last Supper until he was crucified, the choir chose to perform it during the Easter season.
For the performance, a small orchestra accompanied the ensemble. The members of the orchestra were made up of people from all over the state, coming from places such as Lansing and Ann Arbor to perform with the group. The Chamber Choir took on the smaller parts of the arrangement and were then joined by the rest of the Concert Choir and Bay Chorale during the other larger parts.
Soloists for the night included SVSU students Eric Skibbe, Steven Schruager, Christina DeVos, Marc Sprang, and Corie del Rio, who were accompanied by both the choir and the orchestra.
Preparation for the event has been going on all semester.
"It has been a lot of work these past few months," said freshman Joe Leibinger. "This piece has required a lot of rehearsal and is very demanding."