Students and community members attended last Monday night’s Bayou la Belle and Warhawk Singers concert. Director Carlton Kilpatrick led the VAPA singers and the audience through a few pieces in an interactive experience, unlike a typical concert.
The Bayou la Belle singers and the Warhawk Singers split performances, with a few performers even doing solo acts. A’Marion Dimmer sang “Zombie Jamboree” with the Warhawk Singers, which transitioned into Bayou la Belle musician Taylor Strange’s piano part in “Bei Mir Bist du Schon.”
Kilpatrick said he wanted to include a few funny pieces, in which VAPA sang “Chili con Carne,” a Scottish piece about wanting a taco. Next up was “Hey Jude,” during which Kilpatrick encouraged the audience to join in by clapping their hands and singing. Addison Mitchell, Braden Tucker and Harper Innis sang the beginning of the piece, but they soon trailed off and encouraged the audience to get into the song. By the end, the audience danced and clapped along with the music.
“The concert was meant to be interactive with the audience, so incorporating their voices in ‘Hey Jude’ as well as ‘Sumer is Incumen In’ was absolutely planned,” Bayou la Belle singer Gwendolyn Abadie said. “I hope the audience felt more encouraged to sing more on their own.”
Kilpatrick explains why the performance was casual, noting the benefits for the audience and singers.
“The purpose of these two choirs is really for non-majors, just for people to sing without the commitment,” Kilpatrick said. “I’m proud that I can participate in that. It’s really wonderful; it’s really good for you to sing.”
When asked about his VAPA program plans, Kilpatrick responded with the program’s progression and ever-growing student body size.
“I think the VAPA area is recovering still from the pandemic,” Kilpatrick said. “But we have a lot of new momentum coming from our director, Dr. Bratcher. We’re moving forward.”