Singing voices and a tranquil piano were heard from the Cal State Long Beach University Choir and Bob Cole Conservatory Chamber Choir at the Los Altos United Methodist Church on Friday and Saturday night.
The choir, conducted by Jonathan Talberg, allowed the audience to experience a rollercoaster of emotions with classical compositions such as “Ezekiel Saw De Wheel” and “Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine.”
There were also compositions in other languages, including Italian, Spanish and Taiwanese Mandarin. However, the main themes of the night were the galaxy, its planets and the stars.
Talberg said that he picked the theme of the galaxies because he is very intrigued by the idea of the universe, its function and its stars.
The composition “Galaxias,” composed and conducted by Argentine-based composer Santiago Veros, was one of the highlights of the night. The choir’s powerful performance allowed people to experience what it is like to live in the galaxy.
Two of Talberg’s students also conducted music during the performance. Tyler Berg conducted “Two Falling Stars,” while Malcolm McGee conducted “The Language of the Stars.”
After the show, Talberg talked about how proud he was of his students after such a performance, which they rehearsed and practiced since the last week of August.
“I am really thinking about the music [while performing], and I’m trying my body to inhabit the music,” Talberg said.
Two moments stood out to Talberg. The first moment was the choir’s performance of “Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine.” The second memorable moment for him was people tearing up to “Goodnight Moon.”
“People don’t flock to mediocrity,” Talberg said. “Decent choirs don’t get big audiences on college campuses. Good choirs get big audiences.”
Talberg also said that classical music and compositions often transmit values different from those of pop music, and that they require a certain amount of comprehension.
“People deserve to be asked to pay attention, to use their brains,” Talberg said.
Raphael Mutuc, 21, was one of the many spectators who attended Saturday’s concert. He’s not a Long Beach State student, but he was there to watch and support his girlfriend performing on stage.
Mutuc congratulated the choir for the performance. He believes that these events keep history and classical music alive.
“I liked ‘Ezekiel Saw De Wheel’ [the most]… It seemed like everyone was super hopeful on that song, you can kind of see it in everyone’s faces and the way they sang,” Mutuc said.