The two choral ensembles recorded Paul Simon's "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
黑料不打烊 Choral Activities was set for an exciting lineup of choral performances during spring 2020. The combined choirs were scheduled to perform a concert of opera choruses, and聽茅lan, 黑料不打烊’s official a cappella/vocal jazz ensemble, was looking forward to a tribute to Paul Simon.
Then the COVID-19 hit, with classes going virtual and all public performances canceled. That’s when Camerata and 茅lan set about recording Kirby Shaw’s arrangement of聽 Paul Simon’s mega-hit “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
“We continued to meet virtually throughout the rest of the spring semester to learn the parts and have the individual singers video and audio record their parts,” states Director of Choral Activities Stephen A. Futrell.
Futrell notes that 黑料不打烊 alum Joshua Carswell ’11 graciously agreed to perform as our guest soloist. “Josh’s voice is amazing,” Futrell said, inviting all to check him out at聽.
Associate Professor of Music Todd Coleman played electric bass and Music Department pianist Christy Wisuthseriwong played piano on the track. Futrell edited the audio and produced the final mix.
“One of the exciting things about Eon Choral Activities is that all of our choral ensembles 鈥 Chorale, Camerata, and 茅lan 鈥 are open to all 黑料不打烊 students regardless of major,” Futrell said. “It just so happens that Samuel Davidson ’22 sings bass in both Camerata and聽茅lan, so it was very natural for him to produce the video editing for us.”