Gettysburg College Choirs Perform “Into Winter” Concert
By Ella Prieto, Staff Writer
The winter choral concert was held on Saturday in the Christ Chapel from 8 to 9:30 p.m. It featured the four groups of the chorus: Concert Choir, Audeamus, College Choir, and Camerata.
The concert began with the Concert Choir, a large mixed choir with 40–60 singers with varying levels of experience, performing the song “Tyger.” Tim Foster accompanied them on piano.
After “Tyer,” Director of Choral Activities at Gettysburg College Robert Natter gave an introduction for the concert. He thanked the audience for their attendance and gave a shoutout to special guest Cindy Earhart, who graduated from Gettysburg College in 1950.
Dr. Natter then explained that the audience was welcome to sing along with the chorus during the carol sections in the program. As the audience and chorus sang, a different group from this chorus switched onto the stage.
Following those announcements, the Concert Choir began their pieces again. They included, “Glow,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” and “Hine Ma Tov,” a Hebrew folk song that was accompanied by Erica Messinger on the flute.
While Audeamus switched with Concert Choir, the audience sang the carol “Deck the Halls.”
Audeamus, which is a choir for soprano singers, began their set with “Ikan Kekek,” a Malaysian folk song. They followed with “What Happens When A Woman Takes Power,” “Song of Miriam,” and “The Little Babe” from the “Ceremony of Carols.” They were also accompanied by Tim Foster on piano.
The audience then caroled with “In the Bleak Midwinter” while Camerata switched with Audeamus.
Camerata, an advanced ensemble with eight singers, sang “The Christmas Song” and “Let it Snow!” with no accompaniments.
As Camerata went off and College Choir came on the stage, the audience sang “White Christmas.”
College Choir, a mixed chamber choir with 24-36 experienced singers, sang “Rise Up Shepherd,” “O Magnum Mysterium,” “Alleluia,” and “The Unexpected Early Hour” from “A Winter Breviary.” They did a special performance of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” with Zach DeBesche ’22 (alumnus) accompanying them on drums.
The final carol the audience sang was “It Came upon the Midnight Clear” as the chorus prepared for the joint performance together.
The finale was “Gloria” and was accompanied by an orchestra of Gettysburg students and faculty. It featured a soprano duet with Laura Duffy ’23 and Lily Zhou ’23 along with a soprano solo by Sophia Low ’23. In addition, there was an alto solo by Ana María Griffin Morimoto ’25.
The chorus finished their performances and were awarded with a triumphant standing ovation.
