An engaging exploration of how music connects us is the focus of our next community concert on Friday, Nov. 7, in Tateuchi Hall.
Countertenor Von Bringhurst, vocalist Adesuwa O., and pianist Shauna Pickett-Gordon will present “Everything Old is New Again: A Cabaret Concert & Conversation.” The concert will feature songs from diverse genres and explore the concepts of old and new music.
Diving deeply into the meaning inside and behind the song, selections will be drawn from the canons of art song, opera, musical theater, jazz, popular, and world music.
Adesuwa O. said the program is a collaborative effort to show how certain songs complement one another.
“It’s a conversation, a journey, and a story,” she said. “ It’s really us sharing the universal human experience through song.”
“The whole goal of the program is to talk about how songs across a wide variety of genres talk about similar subjects and why it is so often love,” Bringhurst said.
Von shared that some of his music selections include songs from Aaron Copland (12 poems of Emily Dickinson) and Golden Age Music Theatre, like “My Fair Lady,” for example.
Adesuwa said she’ll be singing an original piece and Duke Ellington’s “Prelude to a Kiss”, among other songs.
“I’m really excited about the last song we’re doing: ‘Happy Days are Here Again,” she said. “It was a song they sang on the Judy Garland Show when Barbara Streisand was a guest. I’ll be singing Barbara Streisand, and Von’s singing Judy Garland.”
Music provides connection and, by itself, can significantly impact people’s moods. The show will include a nice mix of music and conversation.
“We will talk about what each of the songs means,” he said. “Our selections are paired with one another so you can hear different interpretations on similar themes. This will also allow everyone to hear our different voices and how we can connect.”
That musical connection is what Von hopes the audience takes away from the performance.
“I hope they gain an appreciation for music they haven’t thought about or listened to in a while, a connection between music that they might have thought to be very disparate.”
As a music teacher, Von’s advice to students as they approach singing is to focus on developing their singing skills.
“My advice first is to breathe,” Von said. “The next thing is to identify music that brings you joy and sing that. And work your way up to things that challenge you from an emotional and technical perspective because that’s how you develop the skill.”
Adesuwa agrees that honing a skill takes time and encourages students to work on proficiency.
“My advice is to get very solid with your technique and knowledge so when you’re on stage, you don’t have to think about it.”
By TaLeiza Calloway-Appleton
