On Saturday Nov. 12, the music department presented Autumn Serenade, Smith’s annual fall chorus concert.
The concert featured four ensembles: Smith Chamber Singers, Smith Glee Club, Smith Campus School Chorus and the Amherst Regional High School Hurricane Singers. It was the first Autumn Serenade to feature groups outside of Smith Glee and Chamber since the start of the pandemic.
The concert had a considerable turnout — among them families, community members and students supporting friends in the ensembles — and ended in a standing ovation.
Associate/Interim Director of Choral Activities Paige Graham said the department had been preparing for Autumn Serenade since the summer. Graham picked the repertoire based on advice she had received that “the best way to program a recital is to pick your favorite music.” This concert was “full of bucket list pieces” for Graham, such as the Malay folk song “Ikan Kekek”, a piece where “different types of fish (‘ikan’) are symbols of the simple joys in everyday life,” according to the program notes.
Graham described how the messaging of the concert’s repertoire largely surrounded “the idea of the depths of human emotions” and “ bittersweetness — sadness, but also feeling the heights of joy.”
Between Chamber and Glee’s performances, the Campus School Chorus — composed of fourth- to sixth-grade students — and the Amherst Regional High School Hurricane Singers performed.
First, the Campus School Chorus filed onto stage in matching white T-shirts and bright sneakers, as parents whipped out the phones to record. Their first piece, “All is Found” by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, arranged by Mac Huff, was chosen by their music teacher and conductor. The conductor noted that their second piece, “A Sky Full of Stars,” co-written by Coldplay and Avicii, was voted on by the students.
The group was met with thunderous applause before the other four ensembles joined them onstage to sing “O I Got A Light,” arranged by Brandon Waddles.
Similarly, the Amherst Regional High School Hurricane Singers suggested and voted on several of their pieces. Their set had a wide variety in style, with standard choral repertoire such as “The Snow” composed by Edward Elgar, Arcadian folk song “Vichten,” and two contemporary pieces arranged for choir. Several of their pieces—including “Lost Cause” by Billie Eilish arr. MaryAnne Muglia and “Love Me Like A Rock” by Paul Simon arr. The Wailin’ Jennys —were choreographed with snapping, stomping and other body percussion.
While most choirs are led solely by the director, Glee and Chamber are paramount examples of student initiative: each has its own unique democratic process. Both associations have a system of multi-tiered leadership because they function as both a course (MUS 952 Smith College Glee Club) and as student organizations.
On the academic end, Glee and Chamber are headed by Graham, who programmed and conducted the recital. As student organizations, the ensembles also have elected student positions. The current president, Susie Mott ’23J, oversees Glee and Chamber’s cabinet.
Mott noted the important function of a cabinet with student representatives. “In prior years, we’ve had choir conductors engage with students, but not every conductor is meaningfully equipped to engage with the student perspective,” she stated.
Mott described her responsibilities as president as “checking in with all other cabinet members and also emotionally supporting the choir” and underscored that one of her main goals for this semester was to “address the choir in terms of emotional concerns.” One unique approach to this has been through the “feelings form.” Dating back to 2017, the feelings form allows members to anonymously submit concerns about learning the music, group dynamics and more.
Outside of the cabinet, Glee has “lots of opportunities to get involved” with the broader Smith community, according to Ella Claire Moore ’26. This concert, for instance, included several soloists, which Graham explained is a “great way to build excitement for a piece.” Moore said that her favorite part of Glee is “working together to make such beautiful harmonies and experiences for other people. You have that sense of community, and that sense that there’s something greater than yourself.”
Smith Glee and Chamber, as well as the Campus School Chorus, will be featured in Smith’s annual Christmas Vespers performance on Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. in John M. Greene Hall, with free-will donations going to the Hampshire County Interfaith Cot Shelter Program.
