SMU Meadows Choir hosted its Fall Choral Showcase on Tuesday, Sept. 30th.

The concert took place in Caruth Auditorium at the Owen Arts Center, featuring performances from each SMU choir group, including the Concordia, Meadows Chorale, Meadows Chamber Singers and a guest choir, the Singing Girls of Texas.

Professor Winchell is the director of choral activities and an assistant professor of music. Now in her second year at SMU, she was approached by the Singing Girls of Texas, a Fort Worth-based high school choir, about collaborating.

“I was really impressed watching them, watching them work. They had very specific questions,” Winchell said. “They’re very inquisitive, and I think it changes the experience because different singers have different specialties.”

The showcase marked the choir department’s first performance of the year. The setlist featured pieces ranging from an Indian classical melodic framework to poems and Psalms, drawing works from the 1500s to the late 1900s. Winchell picks the music for each performance.

“I’m thinking about music that they’ll connect with, but I’m also trying to get a sense of what they gravitate towards, what comes really easily to them, what’s a challenge for them vocally,” Winchell said.

For the singers, the songs create connections across different eras. Sophomore Sarah Mendelson is a vocal performance major in the Meadows Chorale and enjoys classical choir pieces from earlier periods.

“I think classical choir pieces are so pretty when they’re written in like 1804,” Mendelson said. “It’s such a cool part of the music we don’t really get to see very often in today’s society.”

The best part for Mendelson is how gratifying it can feel to perform.

“Sometimes I get a piece that looks really, really hard at first, but I’m able to master it in two weeks,” Mendelson said. “That’s always just such a cool feeling that you get to learn.”

However, sophomore Barrett Pickett said he thinks students should have more participation in selecting the music.

“I went to a couple of performances last year, and my most critical comment has always been the selection of the pieces, because obviously the students have no choice in that,” Pickett said. “I think that maybe the choirs themselves should get a little more input into this song choice.”

Despite the music selection, the concerts allow students to connect with something more than themselves. Winchell’s favorite part of their concerts is being able to detach from what is going on in the outside world.

“I think for both performers and audiences, giving your full attention to one thing and letting your mind wander, and that’s totally fine,” Winchell said. “And then something will happen that draws your ear back, and you’re like, ‘Oh, what just happened?’ And that’s really cool. You don’t get that if you’re distracting yourself constantly.”

The choirs function as regular classes open to students of any major. Some, like the Meadows Chamber Singers, are more advanced and often include both undergraduates and master’s students. This can consist of working on specific aspects of sound.

“In the same way that a visual artist might be very thoughtful in adjusting the way that the paint lies on the canvas or the way that the shading works in this area, we do that, but with voices,” Winchell said. “But with voices, it’s going to be different tomorrow because you’re a different version of you. A lot of what we do is figuring out how to make the beautiful moments repeatable and still feel alive and true.”

Pickett appreciates what the department does and urges more students to attend events at Meadows.

“We show up for our student athletes when they play, and we’ve got some great student musicians, and I think it’s just great to support them and come down,” Pickett said.

The showcase marked the beginning of the semester’s events for the Meadows Choir department. The next show in their performance series is planned to have a cohesive theme.

“It’s themed around journeys and what makes us leave a place and return to a place and what we learn along the way,” Winchell said.

“Pilgrimage” will take place on Nov. 20th, featuring the Concordia, Meadows Chorale and Meadows Chamber Singers.