The Fairfield University Glee Club is one of the oldest clubs here on campus, and fortunately, they held their annual Alumni & Fairfield Weekend Concert this past Sunday, Oct. 17. Conductor Dr. Carole Ann Maxwell DSM along with Accompanist Beth Palmer led the 75 undergraduate singers in a wonderful performance, along with segments from Fairfield Acapella groups; Sweet Harmony and The Bensonians. 

The entire ensemble started with The University’s Alma Mater, followed by Iván Erőd’s arrangement of “Viva La Musica!”. The Glee Club continued the concert with “A New Song” by Marvin Curtis, and ended the first act with an honor to the Ignatian Year. The ensemble sang “Prayer of St. Ignatius Loyola” in honor of the celebration of the 500th anniversary of St. Ignatius. Two soloists were featured during this piece: Elena Galligan ‘22 and Sebastian Fox ‘23.

Senior Reyes Huerta followed with a wonderful solo performance of “El Triste,” by Roberto Cantoral. Following the thrilling mexican-arranged performance, Katherine Junkins performed Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s “Never Enough” and did just as amazing a job as Huerta did. 

The ladies of Glee Club then came together to perform “Arise My Love,” which included warming messages from The Songs Of Solomon, Dr. Maxwell informed the audience. Sophomore Ralph Ignacio performed a wonderful rendition of Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are” next. 

Sweet Harmony then took the stage, led by Emma Lussier ‘22, Madelyn Dutilly ‘22 and Katherine Junkins. They performed a crowd favorite mash-up of Harry Styles’s “Lights Up” (solo by Madelyn Dutilly), “Adore You” (solo by Bella LaGrego) and “Watermelon Sugar” (solo by Karen Coughlan). Senior Jessica Cuntrera strutted her beatboxing skills as the ladies paid tribute to the famous acapella group, “Pentatonix,” with a delightful performance of “On My Way Home”. 

One of Sweet Harmony’s Directors Madelyn Dutilly took the stage right after with a warming performance of Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey”. As she concluded the superb solo feature, alumni of Sweet Harmony could be heard in the audience cheering on their successors.

The Bensonians, led by Directors Timothy Amarante ‘22 and Noah DeFeo ‘22, kept the excitement going with a soulful performance of “Hey There Delilah” which featured a lead by Kyle Fishbaugh ‘23. The gentlemen rounded out a great act with a classic acapella rendition of “Good Old Acapella” by The Nylons. Juniors Jack Legere and Sebastian Fox led the group on this fun barbershop quartet-like number. 

The Glee Club then concluded the concert with the late Aretha Franklin’s “Think”. I reckon that the late Queen of Soul would be pleased with the performance, as the group wrapped up overall a wonderful performance and display of soloists for the afternoon. 

Dr. Maxwell and the Group included a senior pinning ceremony, thanking the seniors for their dedication and hardwork. In addition to the seniors, Reverend Michael J. Doody, S.J. was honored as the Chaplain for the Glee Club. If you are interested in seeing the Glee Club, be sure to catch their Christmas concerts at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on Dec. 3 and 4.

 

About The Author

-- Graduate Student | Coffee Break Editor/CFO | Accounting --

I am a senior student, Accounting major with minors in Business Analytics and Accounting Information Systems. I am from Wantagh, NY. My nationality is Portuguese, and I love soccer & music! My favorite soccer team is Real Madrid, and my favorite band is Green Day!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.