PICTURES SOON –MS
ERIN FLOM
Guest Writer
Choral Union performed their Spring concert on Saturday March 14.
Choral Union is Pacific Lutheran University’s community choir. The choir is open to students, alumni, and community members.0
The choir performed with accompaniment from percussion, harp and organ, as well as a small brass section made up of faculty and Tacoma Symphony Orchestra performers.
The mixture of choir and brass made for an evening of full and rich sounds. Caryn Pharris, an audience and community member, said that the blend of choir and brass “all sounds so majestic.”
Pharris’s husband, a PLU alumni and a member of Choral Union, performed that night. “It’s more enjoyable when you know someone who’s performing,” Pharris said.
Adam Sahrblom, a sophomore, takes trumpet lessons with Ed Castro, a lecturer at PLU and a performer that evening. Although he came to listen to the brass players, he still liked listening to the entire ensemble music. When it’s live “you feel closer to the music,” Sahrblom said.
The ensemble performed four pieces, all from living composers. And, as noted in the program, the first piece, “Magnificat” by Fredrik Sixten, would be the U.S. premiere.
Nathan Gorham, a community and Choral Union member, liked all of their pieces they performed, but especially their final piece: “Gloria” by John Rutter. “I liked the dynamics of it,” Gorham said “from warm and expressive to glorious.”
Philip Nesvig, a 1970 PLU alumni, said that singing in choirs and in Choral Union is an “enriching and satisfying experience.” While at PLU, Nesvig sung in Choir of the West for two years. Since then, Nesvig has sung in choirs wherever he has lived, including New York and Norway. Nesvig said he liked Choral Union because it’s “not a choir of soloists. It’s a true blend of sound, a true choir.”
Mallory Flemister teaches choir at Keithley Middle School and sings for Choral Union. Flemister said she “enjoys singing in community groups.” She also tries to get her students to come and listen.
