Toward the end of an exciting first Piratepalooza on Saturday, April 25th, the Sarofim School of Fine Arts’ Music Department performed their final choir concert of the year at 2 p.m. at the Alma Thomas Theatre. 

The concert began with Southwestern University Singers, performing “Christ Lag In Todesbanden.” Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, the German song is one of Bach’s earliest church cantatas, a vocal composition with instrumental accompaniment, which he wrote for Easter. Next, the group sang “Jesu, der du meine Seele,” another church cantata by Bach. It is based on the 1641 hymn by Johann Rist of the same name, and the topic of the chorale is distantly related about dealing with the Passion of Jesus, which cleanses the believer. Finally, the Singers ended their section by performing “Lift Thine Eyes to the Mountains” by Felix Mendelssohn, which is based on Psalm 121 and is a hymn-like piece emphasizing the help that comes from the Lord.

After the Singers took their leave, the Chorale arrived and began a rendition of “Il Est Bel Et Bon” by Pierre Passereau. The French song is about two housewives chattering about their husbands and how wonderful they are. Next, they performed an old Scottish song “Annie Laurie,” based on the poem by William Douglas and arranged by Alice Parker and Robert Shaw. In his poem, Douglas expresses his deep love and devotion to Annie Laurie, describing her beauty and how much he would sacrifice for her. Afterwards, the Chorale covered “Run to You,” an original acapella song by Pentatonix, and describes an intense longing for someone and the desire to reconnect after a relationship has drifted. Lastly, the group performed “O Schöne Nacht” by Johannes Brames. This German song means “O Lovely Night” and depicts a beautiful night sky with two young lovers. 

Next up, the Combined Treble Chorus took the stage to perform a rendition of Psalm 23 by Z. Randall Stroope, with assistance by Elvis Marin ‘26 on flute and Virginia Williams ‘27 on oboe. The themes center on God as a protective shepherd, offering comfort, anxiety relief, and peace in difficult times. Afterwards, both choirs combined and performed “Ride on King Jesus,” a traditional spiritual, arranged by Moses Hogan, and brings hope celebrating Jesus as a triumphant, unhindered King who brings victory over oppression and suffering.

Before the concert concluded, Visiting Assistant Professor of Music and conductor Daniel Arredondo II called upcoming graduating seniors Aiden Boswell, Sophia Kee-Rees, Warren Mullinnix, Matthew Nixon-Hoxie, and Nathaniel Ramey to the front of the stage to declare a short speech of how proud he is of their achievements, the impact they’ve made during their years at SU, and bring them the best of luck after graduation, gifting them small bags for each of them to congratulate them on their journey. After the emotional sendoff, the choir concluded their concert with a performance of “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” by Peter C. Lutkin. Based on the Bible verse, the song expresses how God will always give protection and provide for his children.

It was certainly emotional saying farewell to the seniors, but while hearing them perform, surrounded by and attended by friends and family alike, there is no question that we are proud of how far they’ve come during their time at SU and the choir as a whole gave it their all to give everyone a great show. There is no doubt that this concert was a great celebration to everyone’s hard work and the dedication of each student, and we can’t wait to see what next year holds for store.