HFC Chorus performs in Michigan Community College Choral Festival

The HFC Chorus, under the leadership of its new director Amy Saari, was one of four community colleges to perform in the Michigan Community College Choral Festival at Grand Rapids Community College on November 8.

The HFC Chorus performed the following songs:

• “Kuumba” by Dr. Zanaida Stewart Robles.
• A medley of “Over the Rainbow” (from the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz) with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. “Yip” Harburg and “What a Wonderful World” by George David Wiss and Bob Thiele, as performed by Israel Kamakawiwo’ Ole.
• “Everyday People” with words and music by Sylvester Stewart and arranged by Mark Brymer.

They also performed “Va, Pensiero” (also known as the “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves” from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Nabucco) alongside singers from GRCC, Mott Community College, and Northwestern Michigan College.

The sixth principle of Kwanzaa

“We performed a piece called ‘Kuumba,’ which is the sixth principle of Kwanzaa; it means ‘creativity,’” said Saari. “This setting allowed us to incorporate improvisation with any combination of voices and instruments.”

When Saari researched the principle of “Kuumba,” she learned its definition of creativity was different from the definition of creativity as often understood in Western culture.

“Its definition is: To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it,” she said. “Creativity comes not from individual genius but from collective action; that’s the distinction I wanted to put out there. I encouraged my singers to explore what they could create out of the music they were given. The piece began with a given melody and I encouraged them to improv on top of that melody not only with their voices, but also with handheld percussion instruments.”

Added HFC Manager of Recording Arts Jeremy Palmer: “When it was our turn to sing our selections in front of the guest vocal coach Austin McWilliams, he was so impressed with our first number that he didn't give us any constructive feedback for it, only compliments about our rhythmic accuracy and the beauty of the piece. The HFC Chorus was also the only group to sing our pieces from memory, which helped our group have more presence during the performance.”

Unique elements in the HFC performance

The HFC Chorus learned even more as they were performing.

“I’m new to this particular choral scene. This is my first semester at HFC. It’s been challenging and rewarding, but the rewards are certainly worth the challenges,” said Saari. “I had no idea what to expect at this festival. Because of that, I made sure when the HFC Chorus reintroduced itself under new directorship, we put out a high-quality set. We got our music up to performance level before this festival. The vocal coach had critiques for only one of our pieces. We ended up being the only chorus that performed their songs from memory, the only chorus that performed with a ukelele, and the only chorus to perform a performance art piece (‘Kuumba’) at this festival.”

Palmer is proud of his fellow singers in the HFC Chorus.

“We made a good showing at the festival this year. Everyone in the HFC Chorus had a great time, learned more about good choral vocal technique, and felt great about the performance given,” he said. “It was also very nice to see and hear the other groups that attended the festival. Everyone was kind and respectful to each other, and everyone expressed plans for attending this event in the future. One highlight of the festival was having all of the college choirs perform one piece together. It was beautiful to have so many singers creating music together. That is one thing that is so great about choral music: It can really bring people together."