The Fairfield University Glee Club has already started to expand under the new direction of Michael Ciavaglia, ‘04, DMA, who has been a professor at Fairfield University since 2014. Among the first changes Dr. Ciavaglia made was reintroducing the Chamber Singers, an ensemble that existed underneath Glee Club, but was dissolved a few years ago.
Jane Coppola, a sophomore member of the Glee Club and its ensembles Chamber Singers and Sweet Harmony, describes the way Dr. Ciavaglia introduced the Chamber Singers as “ominous.” According to Coppola, the fact that the Chamber Singers would be reinstated as an ensemble under the Glee Club was very casually mentioned.
Still, her attention had been caught. “I was very intrigued because I love to sing. It’s like my biggest thing, so I really like to be involved in as much vocal performance stuff on campus as I can be.”
Chamber Singers was mentioned again the next week. Though it was founded in the 1980s, the last time this ensemble had been on campus was before the COVID-19 pandemic, and once the pandemic was over, the group didn’t immediately come back together. Dr. Ciavaglia offered a sign-up sheet for anyone interested. Because of how new the ensemble was, auditions wouldn’t be required. Coppola and nine others signed up.
Coppola describes Chamber Singers as “glee, but smaller.” The ensemble meets once a week, outside of typical Glee rehearsals, and they focus on acapella music. Currently, they’re working on five songs for an upcoming concert, which Coppola says are more “intricate” than what they work on in Glee. According to her, there’s more you can do with a small ensemble, rather than a larger choral group of ninety people.
The rehearsals for Chamber Singers have also gotten off to a good start. So far, they’ve been working on songs in Latin and Italian, among others. Because of the smaller group size, they have the opportunity to try different things out. Coppola was asked to solo a portion of a song “just for fun,” just to see what it would sound like.
Another sophomore, Liana Randazzo has been really enjoying Chamber Singers. “So far it’s been really fun. I like that it’s a smaller group which has allowed us to bond quickly. The songs have been fun as well,” she says.
At the Chamber Singers’ first concert, Randazzo is especially looking forward to performing a song called “Oh Occi Mansa Mia,” which she says is “so fun and energizing.” She adds that the Chamber Singers sound especially good together on that song.
Coppola’s favorite song so far is “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” which Kylee Faulkner ‘26 also agreed with. Like Coppola, Faulkner has also enjoyed being part of the Chamber Singers. “A lot of my really close friends are in it, and we can kinda just be goofy, too, while we’re still learning harder music and getting to be better musicians,” Faulkner said.
The song Dr. Ciavaglia said he was most excited for the Chamber Singers to perform was also “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” which was “[made] famous by the Carter Family, who were Country music pioneers about a century ago. Rather than singing from a prepared arrangement, we have devised our own version in rehearsals.”
Dr. Ciavaglia has also been pleased by the work the Chamber Singers have done so far this semester. “Our work has been great so far! In my first year directing the Glee Club, it’s wonderful to [have] both a big chorus (the Glee Club) and a small chorus (Chambers) of dedicated singers,” he said.
As for the future of the Chamber Singers, Dr. Ciavaglia says, “I hope to look for opportunities for the Chamber Singers to perform on its own as well as with the Glee Club, both in Fairfield and traveling.”
The Chamber Singers will make their debut at the Glee Concert happening at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on Oct. 20 during Alumni and Family Weekend.
Leave a Reply