Melodious Moments

Every once and while a person has a chance to see the coming together of wonderful talent with different styles, that when blended becomes something outstanding. Pueblo was witness to that at CSU-Pueblo Hoag Hall tonight. The near capacity crowd on Saturday May 8th was treated to a wonderful night of singing. To help celebrate its 14th season in style the Pueblo Children’s Chorale (PCC), invited its neighbors to the north. They had the Colorado Springs Children’s Chorale Pikes Peak Singers (CSCC) join them on stage. This outstanding group has been around since 1977 and performed all over the globe. In 2004 the CSCC created an International Music Festival. This July they will play host to groups from as far away as Japan and Australia. Rounding out the list of great groups was the Pueblo Children’s Chorale Alumni Singers (PCCAS). All three choirs were each directed by wonderfully talented women. Dr. Jennifer Shadle-Peters for PCC, Mrs. Lori Bammesberger for CSCC, and Ms Tiffany Allison for PCCAS.

Pueblo Children’s Chorale was the first to take the stage. Their set included some great songs. A Child of Song, Firefly, Moon, and the finest song of their set, the amazing Israeli folksong, "Hava Nashira," just to name a few. Next on stage was the Colorado Springs Children’s Chorale. They delighted the crowd from the start with lots of creative action and movement on the risers. The best part of their show was without a doubt a delicate and lovely rendition of David Child’s, “Weep No More.” The soft notes of this song filled the house. The strong yet pleasant soprano section of the group floated above the crowd like a soft rain. Before all three groups took the stage for the amazing finale the audience was honored with the terrific voices of the Pueblo Children’s Chorale Alumni Singers. Their performance of Journey’s “Open Arms” was near perfect.

As a veteran of many choirs, and singing groups both on stage and in the audience I have sung and heard my share of pop songs arranged for choirs. This show contained some very wonderful examples. Including “Turn, Turn, Turn” “Let The Sun Shine,” and the previously mentioned “Open Arms.” The only portion of this amazing night that fell short was the arrangement of the spectacular Beatle’s song “Blackbird.” The voices were right on mark of course but the song just missed the mark of working for a group of singers.

As the night closed all three choirs amazed the crowd with the stunning and all telling “Why We Sing.” This song was a great choice to end such a spectacular show. It seemed to sum up not only why so many talented young people work hard to make music but why so many come out to enjoy it. Congratulations all around to the Pueblo Children’s Chorale, The Colorado Springs Children’s Chorale and The Alumni Singers. All gave the audience a night they will never forget.


-John M. Valdez, Reviewer
PPAG