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On March 15, 2019, I had a chance to listen to the UBC Symphony Orchestra performance at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. This was the first concert I attended at the Chan Centre, so I was looking forward to the performance. The two music pieces A Northern Suite by John Luther Adams and La Mer by Claude Debussy were composed to depict exciting characteristics of the wild nature. Clarinet Concerto by Jean Francaix, on the other hand, showcased something more abstract and complex.

John Adams is known for his compositions focused on the love of nature. A Northern Suite consists of five movements, each depicts a particular scene in nature. The main theme of these five movements painted a picture of a ride through the mountains full of exciting natural sounds. The first and third movements were imitating the bird voices through higher range instruments that were supported by bass instruments. The second, third, and fifth movements had a more solid sound; I believe to describe the density of earth layers in the mountains. I could not follow steady rhythm patterns throughout the performance; my guess is that the author did that to recreate an unpredictable character of nature.

Clarinet Concerto by Jean Francaix performed by Carlos Savall-Guardiola (clarinet) was a very technically complex piece. It consisted of four movements Allegro, Scherzando, Andantino, and Allegrissimo. The beginning of the first movement was quite cheerful. The flute played the main theme, which is then imitated by clarinet, and then by the full orchestra. Later on, the complexity of this composition increased; Carlos played quick legatos exceptionally well, showing his mastery in playing the clarinet. The second movement was in triple meter and was perfect for the waltz dance. The clarinet introduced the main theme and repeated parts of it throughout the performance adding technically complex arpeggios. The second movement was quite playful and at times abrupt. The third movement started with clarinet playing scales in a minor mode. The tempo of this movement was much slower compared to the previous movements. Clarinet Concerto is an exceptional piece, which requires high technical ability due to quick passages throughout the piece.

Since his childhood, Claude Debussy was interested in sailing and exploring seas. La Mer describes three distinct portraits of the sea, using the full potential of an orchestra to imitate its sound. The first movement From Dawn to Noon on the Sea started very slowly and increased in its tempo and intensity closer to the middle and the end. I think he wanted to describe a calm sea at the dawn, which get disturbed and becomes wavier by noon. The second movement Play of the waves was quite upbeat, which perfectly represented playful waves of the sea. I noticed that Debussy continuously used the percussion instruments in order to imitate the waves’ movements. The third movement Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea started off slowly to increase in its intensity as if the wind and the sea had a lively conversation with each other.

On Thursday March 21st I attended a performance by the UBC Jazz Ensemble 2, an ensemble comprised of UBC students both in the school of music and students in other faculties who have a passion for jazz music. The ensemble is conducted by Dennis Esson, and is made up of 20 players, a mix of Saxophones, Trumpets, Trombones, Piano, Guitar, Bass, and Percussion. The large number of players in the ensemble allowed them to capture that ‘big band’ sound, being full and rich with the variety of instruments providing a broad range of musical textures to fully round out the sound and fully capture the different types of pieces they were playing. I always enjoy an opportunity to see Jazz performed, and this had the added dimension of appreciating UBC students display their hard work and musical skills. 

The program consisted of the songs “Blues in Hoss Flat”, “Hit the Bricks”, “Perdiddle”, “Smoke gets In Your Eyes”, “Momentum”, “Horsepower”, and “Jackson County Jubilee”. The numbers were a mix of standards jazz tunes, and some more contemporarily composed numbers, with one song even being composed by the UBC professor Fred Stride. Most of the songs played were quite uptempo and joyful sounding numbers, with the first song “Blues in Hoss Flat” heavily featuring the trumpet section, which had a bright piercing sound, and the percussion section leading the ensemble in keeping the tempo driving forward. 

I also enjoyed that many of the numbers featured soloists that were able to give their own musical interpretations within the different songs. The soloists were usually featured in the mid-sections of the songs, with the large ensemble playing the beginning and ending parts of the pieces. This reminded me of the concerto grosso piece by Bach that we looked at, and how the ripieno, the large ensemble, would play the ritornello, the main opening melody of a piece that would then only be fully repeated by the ripieno at the very end of the piece. The soloists occupy a similar role to the concertino, playing interpretations, or thematic ideas from the ritornello, but never repeating it in its full form. Jazz musicians often improvise these solos, and work with the melodic and key structure of the piece to add interest to the piece as a whole. The piece smoke in your eyes mainly featured a saxophone solo by a player who was very adept at adding emotion and interest to the melody, which I thought really made the piece stand out within the program. 

Though we have not studied jazz in our class repertoire, I have an added appreciation of how music has been developed through time to lead to jazz music, even though it can seem so disconnected to what we have heard. In reflecting on this concert, I am reminded of how music changed during the 19th century and came to capture more of the emotion and identity of the composer, using unprecedented types of musical ideas. Composers such as Debussy and Stravinsky used tools such as the pentatonic and octatonic scales that had been unheard in western music to tell their musical stories, ideas of which we can hear in jazz music. The mix of using dissonance within the music to add crunchy musical textures, that add to the whole musical ideas of the pieces are what make jazz music exciting and wouldn’t have been made possible without its musical predecessors.

“Saturday night, in a world of possibilities”

As Max Kerman belted out the lyrics to one of the songs off of the Arkells’ latest album, it almost seemed too perfect. These lyrics were incredibly apt for the evening. It may have been a Saturday night at the humble Pacific Coliseum, but it sure felt like the audience had the world at their fingertips. The concert was fueled by energy both from the band and from the crowd, but stylistically the performers matched their showmanship with their musical abilities.

The opening song for the night was their latest single, “Relentless”. This song has received a lot of radio-play off of the local rock stations, but the story of how the song was made has not been as well-broadcasted. The band decided to use the theme from an obscure song (“Sixolele Baba”) by a South African artist, Chicco. This theme provided a recurrent ostinato for the Arkells’ latest single, and has become arguably the most distinguishable feature of the song. There is an old saying by comedian Rob Paravonian, “Punk rock is a joke, it’s really just Baroque”. Although it is not meant to be taken seriously, this piece is an excellent example of the point Paravonian was trying to make. Popular music nowadays continues to draw from features used in the past, and the ostinato used in the basso continuo in the Baroque era.

The lyrics to a lot of these pieces were based on themes from modern-day culture. For instance, the song “People’s Champ” was based off of the leadership (or according to the song, lack thereof) in the United States. The politically-charged “American Screams” is a piece that accentuates the short-fused and feverish political climate. Although not performed on tour, the song “Company Man” was supposed to be a representation of former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. For a Canadian band, it does seem as though the Arkells are quite focused on the United States. But this extra-musical association is necessary in the band’s eyes, as these issues dominated news headlines when they were making the album, and continue to today.

Another interesting feature that the band brought with them on tour was the use of a horn section. Although not exclusively part of the band, the Northern Soul Horns have been known to collaborate with the Arkells for certain songs. Specifically for the song “Saturday Night”, the horns were not only a prominent feature in the song, but frontman Max Kerman allowed each instrument to have a solo during an improvised cadenza. With the rhythm of the drum set playing in the background, Kerman would prompt one instrument by asking, “What does a Saturday Night sound like to you?” The instrument would then reply with the idée fixe of the piece, with an improvised transformation added to it. One by one, the synthesizer, guitar, saxophone, and trumpet would reply to the prompt and show their individual skills. The piece would then conclude with a triumphant ending to the song played by the whole band.

But as memorable as the musical elements of their performance are, what elevates the Arkells’ concert from a musical exhibition to an entertainment production is their showmanship. Whether it be crowd surfing or walking through the crowd and handing out sick notes to those who have to work the next day, the entertainment value of the show comes from both the music and the crowd interaction. If you want to see the Arkells for their musical attributes, the band will have you covered. But if you want a combination of that and emotional entertainment, the Arkells will have more than enough in their arsenal.

The second performance I watched at the VSO music festival was a silent film with a live organ accompaniment. As entertaining as the silent film was, the focus of the show was the organ. According to Dirk, the Orpheum is the last installation in Canada left with an originally-preserved organ. The organ has been built into the Orpheum since its opening night in 1927, but it is important to note that it does not appear on the stage at all times. This is because the organ actually stays in the basement, and rises to the Orpheum stage by a hydraulic press. Once turned on, a “blower” in the basement feeds wind through the chambers, giving 949 pipes in the left and right chambers the wind pressure to produce sound. With the many rows of keys, buttons, and pedals in the organ, there are a multitude of noises and sounds it can produce. In the left chamber, there are about 600 pipes that provide the accompaniment. In the right chambers, it will provide the noises that would be associated with a “solo”. Therefore, it would produce noises such as the tuba, oboe, trumpet, drums, etc. The organ can also provide other peculiar noises such as bells, percussion, car horns, train whistles, and bird chirps.

The organ accompanied Laurel & Hardy’s silent film “The Second Hundred Years”. After the performance, I watched the film on YouTube to compare the organ accompaniment. Although the melodies were similar, there were some noticeable differences. For instance, the live accompaniment at the VSO festival provided “noises” for different actions in the film such as sneezes and spitting. For actions such as squatting, the organ would alternate between high and low voices to show the positions of the characters’ squat (if it is high or low). These noises would be accented notes that did not fit in with the melody to accentuate the characters’ actions. Granted, performers have had about 80 years to perfect the nuances of the score, but it nonetheless made the film more enjoyable than it already is.

The other noticeable difference was the themes that Dirk incorporated into the score. In the original film, the melody seemed to be seamless, as if the different themes were in a mixing pot and melted together. In comparison, Dirk used already familiar themes to the audience for certain moments. In one instance, when a couple of prisoners dug themselves out of their cell and up into the room of the warden, Dirk would play the theme from “Pop Goes the Weasel”. Another example was Handel’s “Hallelujah” theme being played once the prisoners finally escaped the prison. My personal favourite was the “Hockey Night in Canada” theme being played when one of the characters ran around the room attempting to scoop a grape with a fork. It was an excellent utilization of leitmotifs, as the audience was able to draw a greater connection to the scenes from the already-familiar themes.

Overall Dirk’s performance was a needed reminder of the entertainment from a century ago. Although he incorporated modern elements into the score, the use of an organ as a live accompaniment to a film is something that is not readily accessible to most people. Because of this performance, we are able to connect historically to a previous culture, while also appreciating the different “bells & whistles” an instrument such as the organ possesses.

On January 26th, I attended the VSO’s 100th anniversary celebration at the Orpheum. This festival had many performances occurring at the same time in different locations of the venue. One of these was the UBC Percussion Ensemble performing in the lobby of the Orpheum. If you have been to the venue, you can visualize the lobby in front of the Orpheum stage doors as an open area below four levels of four balconies in each direction. Although there was no front stage for the ensemble to perform, the musicians were perched above the lobby on each balcony.

The director encouraged the audience to roam around the lobby and different floors to explore the different instruments, but I decided to stand on the bottom floor in the middle of everything. In this position, I was equally exposed to all of the notes and sounds coming from all directions. This creates an experience where with a polyphonic piece such as Jordan Nobles’s “Perseid Cloud”, being surrounded by the music can pull the audience’s attention everywhere instead of focusing on one voice.

The first piece was Nobles’s “Perseid Cloud”, a piece only played on glockenspiel. Nobles, who was present during the performance, claims that by only using glockenspiels it can give an “out of this world” atmospheric ambiance. The 12 glockenspiels used in this performance represented astroids, or more specifically the debris resonating from a comet; a Perseid Cloud. Although there were 12 glockenspiels used, there appeared to be only 4 voices, and sometimes these voices were isolated for easier detection. Due to my position, sometimes I would hear the isolated voice from my (relative) west, and then it would travel along the glockenspiels on my north and south to the east wing’s voice. This created a sense of being immersed in the music, cultivating an appreciation for the delicate notes from the glockenspiels cascading down from the four levels and surrounding the audience.

The ensemble’s second piece was “Pillow Talking Shop” by Erin Graham. Performed on glockenspiels, xylophones, drum toms, suspended cymbals, finger cymbals, a snare, cowbell, and a wood block, this contained more of a variety of instruments than the previous piece. The piece began with a homorhythmic trill of chords for each voice on the glockenspiels and xylophones. From there, the glockenspiels were being played with the handles of the mallets. This put an emphasis on the rhythm, and allowed the xylophones to carry out the main voice of the melody. At one point, on one side the cymbals and tambourines played, then the timpani and toms would repeat the same rhythms on the other side of the lobby. This was an excellent use of imitation, which allowed the audience to isolate the sounds coming from the left and right sides.

The third piece was another by Jordan Nobles, “Oort Cloud”. This was similar to “Perseid Cloud”, except with cymbals. Before this day, I had never encountered pieces composed in the way Nobles writes. Not only is an all-percussion ensemble atypical in modern pop culture, but there appeared to be a clear direction for the despite despite the amount of instruments and layers of polyphony.

Performing during one of UBC’s noon hour concerts at Barnett Hall, Douglas Finch made the afternoon of January 24th a memorable one for those in attendance. A pianist, composer, and professor, Finch displayed it all in his one-hour programme. Growing up I had been to many piano recitals, but never to one put on by a professional. I was expecting a programme of well-known pieces by famous composers, and that is what it was for half of the concert. However, Finch provided so much more with his own composition, as well as his own signature draw for his performances: improvisation.

The first two pieces came from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier Book II. The opening piece, Prelude and Fugue No. 15 in G-Major, was originally written as a harmony exercise for his son. Because of this, Finch decided to play the bare harmonic chords of the piece in slow motion at the beginning as a “prayer”; a prelude to the Prelude. The second piece from WTC Book II was Bach’s Prelude and Fugue No. 9 in E-Major. This was based on the plainchant “Pange Lingua” theme, which Finch decided to improvise on. This would be the ending to the piece, capping the Prelude and Fugues with a meditation at the beginning (the “prayer”) and a plainchant theme at the end. This improvisation is especially important to recognize since Fugues were based on the the Fugue Subject. The Fugue Subject would be introduced in The Exposition, but following this there was no set structure or formula for the rest of the Fugue. Therefore, the identifiable theme is repeated in different ways according to how Bach wrote them. In a way, the improvisation of the “Pange Lingua” theme harkens back to the way Bach would compose his fugues; no clear formula, writing whatever composition he wanted to with the Fugue theme.

The next pieces were Finch’s compositions, “The Enchanted Mesa” and “Too Much Happiness” from “Epiphanies”. Both pieces had an eery feeling to it. For the first piece, this is because every time the audience expects the melody to resolve, a minor chord would be played to avoid resolution. The second piece was a form of extra-musical association, as “Epiphanies” is based on the writings of Alice Monroe. This piece emphasized the spoken words by Finch, with a piano accompaniment.

The crown jewel of his repertoire was saved for the end though: a melee of improvised themes suggested by the audience. The audience picked these three themes: “Maria” from “West Side Story”, “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, and “When You Wish Upon a Star”. In terms of theory, I probably would not be able to properly put into terms what exactly was happening. However, the lack of hesitation Finch had was astonishing, especially during the quick and intense parts. During these parts, he would do a “question and response” motif with the “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and “When You Wish Upon a Star” themes. It was amazing to see Finch revive a lost art in improvisation; this was something composers such as Mozart left for performers in his era.

While Finch himself is a talented musician, the improvisation essentially stole the show. It is a nice change to be able to walk into a concert and have no idea of what could come at the end.

Fire & Grace. In terms of characteristics, these can be two polar opposites of each other. A fiery temperament versus a graceful finesse. Yet the duo of William Coulter (guitar) and Edwin Huizinga (violin) is able to contain the two, producing a passionate yet graceful product. Famous for the combination of Baroque and Folk, the versatile string duo carries over elements from previous eras, while incorporating their own spin on pieces as well.

The concert opened with Bach’s Prelude from Cello Suite No. 1. Performed at a quick tempo, the violin carried the melody. While it was normally quick, the violin was able to draw out long fermatas and slow the piece down when needed. Different dynamics and tempos were able to captivate the audience, building up a grandiose conclusion. Meanwhile, the guitar almost provided a percussion rock-beat. The repetitious “boom-cha-boom-cha” from the guitar sounded very similar to a bass and snare drum alternating in a standard rock beat. This not only provided the rhythm for the violin, but the strumming would also have an effect as an additional voice to the melody. Although there were two instruments, the main voice of the violin and accompaniment from the guitar made the piece mostly homophonic.

The modern minimalistic performance still retained elements of the Baroque period, specifically a basso continuo. This was evident in Bach’s prelude, and also in the Fire & Grace’s “Liquid Gold Suite”. This medley alternates between pieces by Bach and traditional Irish jigs. In Bach’s pieces, the guitar continued to provide the basso continuo while the violin played the melody. Since the pieces were very distinct from each other, I was curious as to how both Coulter and Huizinga would transition between a Baroque-style piece to a traditional jig, and vice-versa. The answer was seamlessly. For instance, between Bach’s Allemande from Partita No.2 and Brian Finnegan’s “Marga’s Moment”, the guitar would be isolated by repeatedly a few notes of the tonic chord from the end of Bach’s piece. From there, the guitar would change modes into the Finnegan’s key. All of this was done while the violin provided an ongoing drone. Then between Finnegan’s piece and Bach’s “Courante”, Fire & Grace would replace the resolving last note of Finnegan’s piece with the first note of Bach’s. These types of transitions continued from one movement to the next, playing the Suite as interwoven fabrics sewn together by the same seamstress.

Although they were played together, there were definitely some noticeable differences between the types of pieces. While Bach’s pieces were simple with a melody and continued bass, the jigs were lively with both parts contributing to the dynamic. Because of this, it was easier to isolate the different instrumental parts in Bach’s pieces, while it was best to listen to both parts as a product from the Irish jigs. The contrast between finesse and passion. Fire & Grace.

The duo put a unique twist on a typical concert. While they continued to represent the importance of the Baroque era, they also showed how other traditional lively pieces can be interwoven with instrumental Bach classics.

On January 26th, VSO has hosted a big birthday party in Vancouver to celebrate its 100 years of musical journey. As a passionate choral singer myself, I watched two choral groups’ performances – one being Elektra Women’s Choir, for which I have written a journal on already; and another one being Vancouver Youth Choir, the relevantly new youth choir under the director & founder, Carrie Tennant.

Carrie Tennant was a good friend of my high school choral director’s. Many of my choral friends from high school are currently singing in Vancouver Youth Choir, so t was also a great moment for me to see my old friends who are still singing to perform at this very special occasion. I didn’t get to sit in the front for Elektra Women’s Choir, which I sadly regret about; but for Vancouver Youth Choir’s performance, I entered the venue quite early and got a seat in the third row.

The slot for Vancouver Youth Choir was also 30 minutes. Carrie started the performance with a short introduction to share her happiness of the 100th year celebration of VSO, and went into performance right after. The Vancouver Youth Choir sang six songs in total, mostly contemporary pieces. (There were no program that lists all song titles, but here is what I remember)

1. 19th Century piece by Vaughan Williams, polyphonic
2. An upbeat, tribal sounding song; involves with stomping
3. A song from Georgia (the country, not the state) which featured the sopranos and the altos – used a lot of imagery of nature and symbolism of politics
4. A Schoolyard chant which was sung in three different keys, involves clapping and a djembe. It was a very lively and cheerful song with high energy and alternating dynamics between each part. It captured the attention of the audiences very well, and it made me tap my feet along with the rhythms.
5. An Atlantic folk song
6. “North” by Sleeping At Last, performed with a piano; arranged by George Chung just for VYC – a contemporary arrangement to create a sense of home and belongingness. The song ended with an also solo singer, singing the melody beautifully with other voices accompanying (homophonically).

As we could see from this setlist, the Vancouver Youth Choir would not satisfy with just one or a few types of music style. Every song was different in terms of composition era, energy level, accompanying instrument, theme, genre, dynamics, the colour of the voices, etc. Each song creates a contrast with the previous song, which kept on surprising me further throughout their setlist.

Now in April, I am sitting down and revisiting my concert journals, recalling how amazed I was by their diverse range of music styles. I could not help on reflecting on the entire music evolution that has been covered in the course Musc 326A, making comparisons between medieval music and music from the 19th century, thinking of how music has gotten so sophisticated and complex. It does not stop here – as we are still hearing so many amazing music creations in the present.

In April, I went to enjoy the concert by UBC Symphony Orchestra in the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. I want to take a moment to appreciate how lucky we are to have such a high-standard and beautiful venue on campus, allowing us to appreciate music in an accessible way. I still remember the first-ever concert I went back in my first year when I just started my abroad study journey. Being a music lover, being able to attend music concert concerts every month (sometimes every weekend) provided me with a place to destress myself and discover the music world more with high-quality performances.

The concert started with ‘Funeral Song’ by Igor Stravinsky. This was a special piece because it was only re-discovered in 2015, as it had been lost during the Russian Revolution. Stravinsky experienced both World War I and II and spent most of his life abroad. There were changes in the characteristic of his music work throughout different phases in his life, and the ‘Funeral Song’ is one of his earliest published work. It started with a low rumble, as of coming from the underground. Followed by high wind instrument and horn solo, it conveyed heavy and dark feelings. Next, brass and strings joined, but I found it’s hard to find the main theme, there was a long development section, and in general, I found it was a little depressed.

The second piece, ‘Les Illumination’, is a song cycle by English composer Benjamin Britten. The beautiful soprano sang by D’Arcy Blunston, who is the winner of the 2019 UBC Concerto competition, perfectly demonstrated the piece. There were 10 scenes in total, and although the lyric lines were showed on the screen, I still found it’s difficult to follow the contents and the singing. What I did instead was just sit back and enjoyed the whole concert, and genuinely appreciated the superb singing skill brought by Blunston.   

After the intermission, the third piece played was Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz. It was the most elegant and imaginative piece I have ever heard, and I absolutely loved it. I also researched online after the concert, to find out the story wrote by Berlioz behind each movement as it was not printed in the program. 

The first movement, Rêveries (passions) was easy to listen to, and there was a simplicity to it. The second movement, Un bal (a ball), is a beautiful and gentle little waltz.

The third movement was the most special. Scène aux champs (Scene in the fields), it started with a cor anglais and offstage oboe asking and answering back and forth. The main theme in this movement was by solo flute and violins. As the conductor mentioned before the piece, the idée fixe returned in the middle of the movement. In my opinion, it served the movement very well, by depicting a vivid image of loneliness and sadness. 

The fourth movement, Marche au supplice (march to the scaffolds), there were timpani throughout the background keeping a tempo, like some kinds of march. In the last movement, Songe d’une nuit du sabbat (dream of a night of the sabbath), the idée fixe appears more frequently in lots of forms as if it went out of control.

This concert was overall impressive, especially the Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz, it opened my mind and made me wanted to explore more masterpiece by Berlioz, no wonder it’s one of the most famous Romantic works!

On January 26th, VSO has hosted a big birthday party in Vancouver to celebrate its 100 years of musical journey. Downtown was flooded with music lovers – the huge lines outside of venues, the people rushing to see the next performances, the happy smiles and the body grooves of the audiences, the enthusiastic performers on the stages, etc. etc.. I was so grateful for being a Vancouverite with access to such a wonderful music community.

Being a choral singer ever since high school, I wanted to take this opportunity to see some choir performances. I quickly made up my mind to check out Elektra Women’s Choir, not only for its reputation in the choral community; but most importantly, for it being co-founded by Diane Loomer.

When I was still a high school student singing in Point Grey Chamber Choir, I once had the privilege of attending one of Diane Loomer’s choral workshops. Not only her choral knowledge was so extensive, but her techniques applied to our singing were so effective that we had immediate improvements during the workshop. Unfortunately, my choral director has passed us the disheartening news of her decease, just a year after we had our workshop. Having heard that Diane co-founded Elektra Women’s Choir, I knew that I must attend.

Elektra Women’s Choir only had time to sing four songs since the time slot for them was only 30 minutes long. I entered the Orpheum Theatre Stage 3 minutes before the performance started, therefore I was sitting towards the back. Orpheum is a big venue designed for orchestras and symphonies, and it could hold many audiences. Since the stage needed to accommodate many different groups on the same day, there was very minimal stage equipment available, such as speakers and mics. For this reason, it was a tad difficult to hear the choir, especially when the space was also creating a lot of echoes and the choir was singing in a slow tempo, mostly in ‘oo’ vowel, and with not a lot of rapid dynamic changes. Another factor was that for women’s choirs, the sound might be even harder to be heard within such a big space without the support of the basses.

The pieces being performed were very much like the hymns from the Renaissance Era – sacred, with homophonic texture (soprano line singing the melody with the other parts accompanying), and polyphonic in the homorhythmic part, or the chorale part. Even though the text was not as strophic as the hymns, the melody was still being repeated once or twice with new or old words (I couldn’t hear exactly due to the echoes).

The Elektra Women’s Choir had very beautiful voices. The vowels were round with resonance, and the singers blended with each other very well. During the polyphonic parts, all the singers were very in sync, and no voices stood out (the optimal polyphony!). Overall, I enjoyed their performance very much, and I would love to attend their concert, where I could hear them in a venue designed for singing so I could enjoy their beautiful voices more.