West Ouachita High School’s advanced choir performed with ULM’s Concert Choir at First United Methodist Church last week.
Of the 14 pieces that were performed that night, “Please Stay!” by contemporary composer Jake Runestad left its listeners in quiet tears.
The calming piece was written to bring awareness to the issue of suicide and to be a symbol of hope to those who are going through tough times
Sarah Owens, a music education freshman, said that the song was “a moving piece that brought forth an issue that is prevalent in society.”
“There are a lot of people with mental health issues, and it’s nice to see the topic of suicide brought to light in an open atmosphere,” Owens said.
The high school’s advanced choir sang three pieces. ULM’s choir joined them on their third and final piece, “Praise His Holy Name.”
“The most challenging piece was ‘Sleep’ by Eric Whitacre, because everybody had to try to stay together, and it was a cappella,” said Cameron Ott, a political science junior.
Ott is a member of both the ULM Chamber Singers and the Concert Choir.
An assortment of songs were sung, and each song portrayed significant emotional reactions from the audience. The spaces between each song were full of anticipatory silence.
Caroline Francis, a senior music education major, said that she thoroughly enjoyed the music because of the variety.
“They could sing a gospel song and then go to a hymn and then go to an upbeat song. That they could pull each of those off in a successful way shows that they’re a very talented group,” Francis said.
The choir didn’t capture attention just by their voices. The facial expressions on every singer not only provided each song with gusto, but also gave their viewers a chance to understand the meaning to their lyrics.