As the seasons shift, many University students begin to emerge from winter’s lull, enjoying the first stretches of warmer weather between pockets of lingering cold days. For some, that means gathering for afternoon picnics with friends on the Lawn, and for others, it’s the chance to brush the dust off their beloved flip-flops. For the Virginia Women’s Chorus, however, the arrival of spring signals something else entirely — the chance to take the stage for one of their final performances of the year. Saturday evening, they presented their annual spring concert, “A Thousand Different Women: Songs from the Female Perspective,” in Old Cabell Hall.
As the University’s oldest all-female musical organization, the Virginia Women’s Chorus is composed of both students from varying degree programs and Charlottesville community members. As such, the organization is committed to both musical excellence and community connection — performing numerous concerts throughout the year, such as Family Weekend Choral Showcases, holiday candlelight concerts and Women Against Violence benefit concerts.
For this year’s spring concert, their theme represented a celebration of womanhood, telling stories of love, hope, strength and resilience. Taking inspiration from author Emory Hall’s poem “I Have Been a Thousand Different Women,” Virginia Women’s Chorus Director Addison Walton said she chose this theme to reflect on the past, appreciate the present and welcome the future of the women on stage and around the world.
“When I looked at the brilliant and fiercely kind and multifaceted women that we have in our ensemble, I thought what a great concert theme to pay homage and to honor the many different perspectives and lived experiences that these women carry with them,” Walton said. “So I thought about stitching together a program that shares songs from the feminine perspective.”
Evoking this theme, the 12-song concert began with various members of the chorus speaking lines of Hall’s poem, namely the titular line — “I have been a thousand different women.” Immediately afterwards, they transitioned into an upbeat rendition of “Apple Tree” by AURORA, a piece strongly rooted in self-identity and inner strength. The ensemble included elements of instrumental and body percussion that paired with their cheerful voices and the lyrics of the song to create a buoyant and lively atmosphere.
Continuing with the contemporary, more traditionally a cappella-style sound, the chorus then performed Chappell Roan’s “The Subway,” sung by Brasley Zanaty, soloist and fourth-year College student. Zanaty’s dulcet tones were complemented by the rest of the chorus, as their harmonies built up in a soulfully mellow crescendo during the melody. Zanaty further added to this tone through her repetition of the song’s outro, repeating “She’s got, she’s got away” in a manner that was equal parts passionate and sincere.
As the concert continued, the diverse nature of the womanhood-inspired theme became clearer through the inclusion of Malaysian-Canadian composer Tracy Wong’s “JAM! (Come, let’s go!).” The vibrant nature of the song blended well with the various snapping, clapping, stomping and ad-libs the chorus included in their performance. Furthermore, the ensemble also impressively performed this song in colloquial Malay, which Frances Liu, president of the Virginia Women’s Chorus and third-year College student, said exposed the chorus to sounds outside of the traditional choral sound.
“[We have been exposed] to a lot of music outside of the traditional choral, tall vowels, kind of realm … we have a few foreign language songs that require a different kind of pronunciation and also some body percussion,” Liu said.
Traditional South African lullaby “Thula Mama” — which translates to “Hush mama” — provided another example of their prowess in singing different languages and sounds. Unlike previous high-energy songs, the chorus sang this lullaby devoted to expectant mothers in deep, resonant harmonies that overlapped with higher melodies to create a soothing, firm tone. This continued in their next song, Elaine Hagenberg’s “O Love,” which brought traditional choral sounds back to the concert in a full-bodied, sonorous manner as they explored themes of unconditional love.
While the group bloomed in their melodies and ability to swell vocally, their talents glowed the most in pieces that held obvious emotional connections to them. Namely, their prowess was apparent in their rendition of the traditional Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts,” which was arranged by former Virginia Women’s Chorus director Katherine “KaeRenae” Mitchell and is a tradition for the chorus to sing at every concert.
Their most emotional piece, though, was Laufey’s “Letter to My 13 Year Old Self.” Before beginning the song, Walton specifically asked the audience to reflect on their own 13-year-old selves, drawing numerous chuckles. Prior to the concert, Walton explained that this piece pays homage to the members of the group’s past selves.
“[The song will be] accompanied by a really special slideshow where we are actually addressing our past selves and the past version of who we were previously, before we stepped into the women that we are now,” Walton said.
This slideshow alternated between pictures of the chorus members at age 13 as the group sang a contemplatively sweet rendition of Laufey’s song. As the slideshow and piece finished, the words “I have been a thousand different women” flashed across the screen, drawing immediate applause from the audience.
Wrapping up this repertoire of both upbeat and emotional songs was a tenderly sweet performance of Harold Arlen’s “Over the Rainbow,” where the Virginia Women’s Chorus gave thanks to their graduating fourth-year members through loving shout-outs and a fourth-year feature where only fourth-years sang during the song.
After the concert, first-year College student Karen Donohue expressed the joy she felt listening to such a diverse celebration of music.
“I loved the way that they performed some modern songs with a few new ones that I’d never heard before,” Donohue said. “It’s always so beautiful hearing live music again.”
Now rounding out their concerts for this semester, the Virginia Women’s Chorus has continuously put together moving, female-led musical experiences. Their most recent performance reminded audiences to appreciate every version of themselves, even those that have yet to come.
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