Mizzou Forte, one of MU’s acapella groups, held its annual winter concert in the Leadership Auditorium of MU Student Center on Nov. 30.
Members of the acapella group felt the performance received positive feedback from audience members.
Alex Haake, president of Mizzou Forte, said the performance went well based on the noise and energy coming from the crowd as well as on stage. He felt the audience enjoyed the show due to the smiles he observed and the people pulling out cameras to record.
A member of the soprano section, Elyse Schoenig, was also pleased with the performance. She felt the outcome of the show was ideal and made the show a success.
“We have been rehearsing nonstop since we formed the new group at the beginning of the semester,” Schoenig said. “The best part about the show was not only hearing the sound come together but also how our group’s chemistry came together, and it really just made the whole show.”
Schoenig also believed the audience’s reaction indicated they were enjoying the performance. She felt audience members were amused by the MCs in Mizzou Forte who aimed to keep the audience engaged by using corny jokes as a transition between songs.
Haake said that while Mizzou Forte has been around for awhile, the group is consistent in performing this show at the end of the fall semester each year. However, he noted that the selected songs for the show changed up on a three semester basis. After three semesters have passed, the majority of the songs are discontinued.
Schoenig felt the songs that were strategically chosen by Mizzou Forte had the impact the group was hoping for regarding the audience’s response.
“A lot of the songs we sang were good classic songs and I feel like most people knew at least a few of the songs we were singing, which is always good because I think it’s harder for audiences to follow along when you sing a song nobody knows,” Schoenig said. “So that’s also why we try to pick songs that are appealing to the audience.”
Haake noted that the songs chosen are picked solely by members of Mizzou Forte using a system that helps bring their performances together.
“Everybody presents a song and then everybody votes on the songs they want to do,” Haake said. “And once a song is picked, then our arrangement chair arranges the music. So most of the songs showcased were arranged by the people in our group.”
Haake said the extended practices prior to the show were worthwhile because of its successful outcome.
“We spent a lot of time practicing and making sure that we knew all our stuff,” Haake said. “Just this week, we had extra rehearsals that we normally don’t have. Overall, having our group come together to do a big show like this at the end of the semester is a great goal to achieve and it gives us something to look forward to and gives us something to get excited about.”
_Edited by Alexandra Sharp | asharp@themaneater.com_