Alumni Join Choir for Spring Concert
Prospective students join BVU graduates and current singers and musicians in spring concert
Seventeen Buena Vista University alumni and two prospective students joined the BVU concert choir in a pair of songs to help cap off “Until I Reach My Home,” the BVU spring band and choir concert in Schaller Memorial Chapel on April 13.
Alumni singers came from hours away to take the stage again, sharing their talents and skills with a crowd estimated at 300.
“It was just like old times,” said second tenor Jerry Emerson, a 1972 BV graduate. “My fraternity brothers and I heard what we expected to hear.”
Emerson went on to say how he and his fellow alumni singers were very impressed with the sound and efforts put forth by the band and choir ensembles growing under the direction of Dr. Kyle Norris, Director of Bands, and Director of Choral Activities/Assistant Professor of Music Christopher Phalen.
“We simply pick up where we left off. It was a highly enjoyable experience. Many of us can’t wait to do it again. We hope to even have more next time!”
-Jerry Emerson, 1972 BV graduate
“It was a great way to help culminate my first year at Buena Vista,” said Norris, who also directed a jazz concert later in the week. “To be able to perform before a large and appreciative crowd excites our students and keeps us all striving for even more in the way of participation and quality.”
“There was so much energy in Schaller Chapel, much of which came from our alumni,” said Phalen, who went from directing the concert on Sunday to directing the Iowa High School FFA Choir in its performance later in the week. “The big thing for us is the idea of legacy and how much being a part of the music program means to our students during their time with us and then in their relationships with one another and with BVU as successful alumni. Prospective students can see what making music is like at BVU. Our current students can see how beautiful music can be for them even after they graduate.”
Guests joined the concert choir for a rehearsal prior to the concert, gathering in Edson Hall for a run-through featuring “Until I Reach My Home,” an arrangement by Brandon Boyd and the title of the concert, and two verses of the BVU “Alma Mater.” Alumni took positions amid current students on the risers just as they would do an hour or so later in Schaller Chapel. They would all convene with other performers and guests in Siebens Forum at a reception that followed the performance.
“We get together and it seems like we last saw one another only yesterday,” Emerson said. The group shared memories of BV music trips at home and abroad, talked about rehearsal schedules, former directors, and more. “We simply pick up where we left off. It was a highly enjoyable experience. Many of us can’t wait to do it again. We hope to even have more next time!”
“It was so fun to connect with alumni and to see and hear them sharing stories with each other hours after the concert concluded,” Phalen said. “They were looking at music and pulling up selections on their phones and singing tunes they hadn’t sung in decades. It was a great way for us to celebrate the conclusion of a great year in BVU music.”