Alumnae of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, with guest pianist from the Riverina Conservatorium in New South Wales Hamish Tait, performed a concert at Elizabethtown College Sunday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center.
The alumnae included Assistant Professor of music and soprano singer Anne Gross, violinist Lauren Davis and cellist Poppea Dorsam.
The concert featured a total of nine songs. All members of the ensemble were on stage for the first song, which was an upbeat piece composed by J.S. Bach. The lyrics of the song were sung in German. The translations could be found in the program.
The next song featured Davis on violin and Tait on piano. The song was broken up into three selections. The overall tone of the piece was calmer, but each selection had its own style.
The next five songs featured Gross, accompanied by Tait on piano. These songs were sung in English. They were written by Australian composers, such as Molly Carew, Phyllis Batchelor, Mirrie Hill and Peggy Glanville Hicks. The lyrics of the songs highlighted the beauty of nature.
Most of the songs were slow, but the last song “Spring Comes Laughing” was livelier. Gross matched the energy of the song with hand gestures and facial expressions.
The second-to-last song featured Davis, Dorsam and Tait. The song contained three selections based on the book “Wild Swans” by Hans Christian Andersen. The music was composed by Elena Kats-Chernin. The violin and cello gave off a smooth tone that went along with the peacefulness of the song.
For the last song, the whole ensemble returned to the stage, and Gross sang in German. The last song was made up of multiple selections composed by Robert Kahn. The selections were about young love, and their styles ranged from slow to fast.
Before the concert was held, the ensemble taught a master class for Etown music students. The class took place at Zug Recital Hall at 2 p.m. the same day.
The concert was sponsored by Etown’s Fine and Performing Arts Department. The next event the department will hold is a senior recital Sunday, Feb. 4 at 3 p.m. in Zug Recital Hall.
