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| Members of the 麻豆传媒 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 麻豆传媒 Chamber Choir really be wrapping their tongues around Beyonce鈥檚 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/Don鈥檛 be mad once you see that he want it 鈥�
Sung in bombastic, operatic style, the song is performed like an argument between the sexes鈥攖he women鈥檚 voices sweet and high, the men鈥檚 like low thunder. Single Ladies is a far cry from the choir鈥檚 usual classical choral repertoire.
鈥淚t started as a bit of a joke,鈥� explains Maria Murphy, a fourth-year music student majoring in voice. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got this pop concert coming up and we were throwing around crazy song titles when Single Ladies came up. We didn鈥檛 actually think he鈥檇 do it.鈥�
鈥淗e鈥� is Gary Ewer, director of the 麻豆传媒 Chamber Choir. He arranged the song 鈥渁s if Schubert or Brahms had composed it,鈥� he explains, during a break in rehearsals. 鈥淲e鈥檙e having a bit of fun; it鈥檚 presented as a spoof.鈥�
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The next concert, Body & Soul, will be performed on both sides of Halifax Harbour: at St. Andrew鈥檚 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.
鈥淭hese students are such good vocalists that you can expect a high level of performance from them,鈥� says Mr. Ewer, who teaches aural perception and music theory at 麻豆传媒. He also directs the 麻豆传媒 Coro Collegium, a much larger choral ensemble comprised of students and community singers. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such a pleasure working with them.鈥�
The respect is mutual. 鈥淗e鈥檚 pretty enthusiastic. He likes to joke around but he鈥檚 serious when he has to be,鈥� says Ms. Murphy, from Saint John, N.B.
鈥淎nd anyway,鈥� she adds with a laugh. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been fun to hear him say, 鈥極K, take it from 鈥業鈥檓 up on him, he up on me.鈥欌��