Sunday afternoon, the Dickinson College Choir and Collegium performed their spring concert, We Sing for Joy: A Choral Revelry in Life’s Ordinary and Extraordinary Riches, at the First United Church of Christ in Carlisle, Pa.

Rebecca Ostermann, who joined the Dickinson Music Department Faculty in 2016 as an Adjunct Faculty in music, conducted the spring concert. Contributing Faculty member in music Brian Rotz served as the accompanist on the piano and the organ. While explaining the concert’s program, Ostermann discussed her motives for choosing “joy” as the focus of the concert’s music. “I just ask that you actually listen to the music,” she said of the theme, “and let it speak for itself.”

For some students, like Jillian Paffenbarger ’18, Ostermann’s song choices succeeded in carrying out this impression.

“I think it definitely did reflect the theme of joy. Some of the songs were virtuosic and playful, almost,” she maintained.

For other students, the concert provided an outlet for creativity. Choir member and alto singer Lauren Brumfield ’20 enjoyed performing these songs.

“Music, in general, makes me feel really happy,” she explained. “I liked that we got to sing pieces about joy.” She also added that “it was great to see so many members of the Carlisle community here.”

The eight pieces performed by the 53 members of the College Choir were songs from Edward Bairstow, Samuel Barber, Jean Sibelius, Jan Garrett, Canadian tradition, Orlando di Lasso and Franz Josef Haydn. The dates of these compositions ranged from the 16th to the 20th century. Among the songs performed by the College Choir, Paffenbarger noted the songs from Canadian tradition and 16th-century composer di Lasso as stand-out.

“There were some interesting choices,” she said, “like ‘Riding on a Donkey,’ and the echo song [di Lasso’s ‘O la, o che bon’ eccho!’], where the students went up to the balcony, was also an interesting addition.”

The 23 members of the Collegium, which Ostermann described as the “top group at Dickinson,” performed four songs from Charles Villiers Stanford, Luca Marenzio and Vince Clarke. The last song that the Collegium performed was Clarke’s “Only You,” which included solos from the four tenors of the Collegium. These four soloists were Joshua Bennett ’20, Michael Daniel ’17, Jonathan Long ’19 and Ethan Rao-Cramer ’20.

Ostermann told the audience that she has thoroughly enjoyed working with these Dickinson students. “I depend on the singers and the ensemble,” she stated. “They’ve been wonderful all the way through.”