In week two, it is clear the students in Musical Troupe are comfortable with their song selections provided by Beth Pope from the music department at WKU. Encouraging the students to articulate more, Pope said, “an ounce of diction is worth a pound of volume” and it is “not necessarily good to be loud, but crisp.”
They began their session with some warmup exercises by singing scales and a few short phrases of “make new friends” in rounds. With only a few days of instruction, their songs were quite impressive with a broad range of genres from 18th century Italian to the pop hit “Memories” to a blend of iconic 20th century songs like “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “What a Wonderful World.” They will be revealing their talents at the final night’s banquet, including special solos, duets, readers, and instrumentalists.
After practicing diligently on their songs, students enjoyed a break with singing games in the hallway. “Do” (pronounced “doe”) was the trigger note, sung by Ms. Pope. Upon hearing the note, students quickly jumped for the cup on the floor. Another game involved a beach ball with students catching the ball and singing a designated note.
As others were playing games, Kathryn M. and Maria A. stayed back in the classroom to continue practicing their songs. When asked which song they like best, both agreed it is Roger Emerson’s updated arrangement of “Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World” that wins.
We can’t wait to see the final performance at Thursday’s banquet!
