Oct. 28 the University of Wyoming’s top mixed choral ensemble, Collegiate Chorale, set off to compete in the 49th annual international Tolosa Choral Contest, and are currently performing in the Basque country of Spain.
In hope to promote Basque culture, a culture that strongly values singing and music, the Basque Cultural Affairs sponsors choirs from around the world to tour and compete in polyphony, a classical music style, and folklore categories.
Once selected, through nominations, the choir is invited to compete, and upon acceptance, choirs participate in the week long, all-expense paid, excluding round-trip airfare, tour and choral competition.
Collegiate Chorale is currently touring and competing in the Tolosa Choral Contest. This ensemble is an auditioned mix of soprano, alto, tenor, and bass performers. The group is made up of students with a range of majors and levels of education.
All of which have been preparing for this competition since last spring and preparing since summertime through distance auditions and recordings, as shared by Dr. Nicole Lamartine, the director of Collegiate Chorale
“The most interesting thing I have learned in preparation is that attention to detail goes a long way and running things over and over really does prepare you for the real experience,” senior marketing student and a member of Collegiate Chorale, Jacque Rickett said.
In the polyphony section, “Cry Out and Shout” by Knut Nystedt, “Come Sweet Death” by J. S. Bach and arranged by Sandberg, “Lament for a Lost Child” by Jere Hutcheson, “To the Mother in Brazil” by Salve Regina-Jansson, and “Si chio vorrei morire” by Caudio Mateverdi will be performed, said Larmartine.
“We had to do one piece by Mateverdi and I chose “Si chio vorrei morire,” and I’ll print out a program for you so you have all the spellings. And we’re really excited about that because it’s a difficult piece but we love singing it. It’s all about sex,” Lamartine, said.
In the folklore section, Collegiate Chorale will be performing “Unclouded Day” by Kirchner, “Xota xaldum” by Morcoroa, “Sarasola” by Zuk Sure Ama, “Battle of Jericho” arranged by Hogan, “Jai Ho” composed by Rahman and arranged by Ethan Sperry, and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk” arranged by Deke Sharon.
“And then we end our folklore program with none other than Bruno Mars’ ‘Uptown Funk’ in an acapella style,” Lamartine said.
Both, Dr. Lamartine as well as Collegiate Chorale member and alto section leader Brittany LaPalme were excited to share about, Xota xaldum. This piece is in the Basque language competition that is staged as a Basque card game called Mus.
“It’s a card game from the Basque culture called Mus. M-U-S. And so, when we sing this song we will hopefully create the suspense of this card game from the Basque culture,” Lamartine said.
This game is difficult for Westerners to understand as it requires partners to make subtle signs to win and it is very complex and stoic. Also, it is important to understand the culture, time, composer, and context of a piece to better convey emotion to the audience, LaPalme said.
Collegiate Chorale also encompasses a strong sense of community through their various team-building activities.
“As many have experienced, I had a hard time from high school to college. For me, Collegiate Choral has been one of the things I leaned on, not because I had to, but because I know they genuinely care,” LaPalme said.
Collegiate Chorale is currently finishing their tour and competition in Spain. They will be returning in time to participate in the Festival of Voices Friday, Nov. 10.
