On October 8th a special guest came to campus to work with the chorale: Michael Barrett, a choral conductor hailing out of South Africa, known best abroad for his work with the Tuks Camerata choir of the Pretoria University. Barrett’s style of music is described by him as, “…neither traditional African nor Western, but has the beauty of both.”
Local professional group Nova Singers performed songs composed and originally conducted by Barrett, which is what brought him to Illinois in the first place. It seemed every college and high school in the area leapt at the opportunity for Barrett to work with them, given the conductor was hopping between many of them during his stay here, including our chorale.
Becca Nielsen, a senior and future music educator, worked with Barrett twice: once as a chorale member and once as a member of Nova Singers. “I found it really interesting how he approached the ensembles differently but maintained such passion and sophistication in regard to the music,” said Neilsen
Barrett had ninety minutes with the choir starting his workshop with vocal warm-ups. Efficient in his methods of teaching, he would start simply and build in more complicated rhythms and harmonies. Barrett worked with chorale on two of his songs they were performing for their fall concert, Ndikokhele Bawo and Modimo. His method of slowly layering in harder concepts continued when he demonstrated the correct movements for the song Modimo, which is a celebratory piece that traditionally features South African dance.
“He was a masterclass in differentiating content without losing its complexity and substance,” said Nielsen. “Watching his process was an experience I’ll remember and use as a resource for the rest of my career.”
Barrett explained how the cultural landscape of his home country influences the music he composes. “Like any country in the world, we are still struggling with massive injustice...So as artists, it’s our job to create bridges and avenues and conversations around this so that we can do our part in making people aware.”
This spirit of connection is present in the music he arranges and conducts, which is often a mix of traditional African musical styles and traditional music from Western music. Barrett said, “Borrowing music from both...to create something incredibly beautiful, something that’s neither Africa nor Western, but what I like to call South African, and that has been the focus of my music.”
After two concerts by Nova Singers featuring his music, the chorale had their turn in front of an audience on October 23rd. The Fall Concert featured a wide range of music beyond the South African pieces; a quintet of string players were brought on to accompany on Domine ad Adjuvandum me Festina, the big Baroque opener for the concert, and the strings accompanied as well on To The Hands, a six movement piece arranged by young and accomplished composer Caroline Shaw. The chamber choir performed as well: a slow and gentle Spanish number called Suave and a lively jazz piece called Bumblebee. After the chamber was done, it was time for Ndikokhele Bawo and Modimo. Both pieces were performed with the style and movements taught by Barrett.
