Seventeen Hillsdale College Chapel Choir students made the trip to Detroit on April 6 to hear world-renowned British vocal ensemble VOCES8. 

The group performed a genre-spanning concert of sacred, classical, and jazz music at Christ Church Detroit as part of their 20th anniversary world tour.

“The concert was a mix of sacred music, renaissance madrigals, and pop and jazz medleys. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the more popular pieces,” senior Madeline Scheve said. 

 The group performed the various genres of music very well, Scheve said.

“I’ve noticed that some groups think of pop music as a time to let their guard down, and then the quality really suffers,” Scheve said. “But with VOCES8 it didn’t matter what genre they were singing, the intonation, tuning, and dynamics were always perfect.” 

Junior Jack Vultaggio said he was impressed by the group’s precision and unity.

“I knew from recordings how much VOCES8 strives for perfection, but to hear that executed live was really special and a testament to how in sync they are as an ensemble,” Vultaggio said.

For junior Joseph Duncan, the performance was a masterclass in choral technique.

“They sang a piece from the opera ‘Elijah,’ which we sang last spring with the Chapel Choir,” Duncan said. “Their tuning, vowels, diction, and synchronicity were world-class.”

Scheve said two pieces stuck out to her in particular, the first: a setting of the Ave Maria in Russian by Russian composer Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmanioff, called “Bogoroditse Devo.”

“When they sang the first chord of that piece, I instantly turned to my friend Viola with total amazement because of how synchronized and controlled the two voices were,” Scheve said.

The second, Scheve said, was “Lux Aeterna” by Edward Elgar. 

“I decided to close my eyes during the whole piece to really try to picture the flow of the phrases,” Scheve said. “It was easy to do since their tone was so pure.”

Duncan said the group has been a personal inspiration as he sings in choirs.

“VOCES8 inspired me in high school with their music and expressivity,” Ducan said. “In particular in the ‘Ave Maria’ by Biebel.”

Another group of eight students travelled to see the performance on Sunday.

“Our group chose to go to this concert because we all really enjoy good choral music and sing in choir and we have also listened to VOCES8 in the past,” freshman Connor O’Donohue said. “It was also just a fun quick trip to Detroit. We got to explore downtown a little bit prior to the concert, which was a lot of fun.”

Despite his initial preference for choral music, O’Donohue said he appreciated the group’s versatility.

“They presented an excellent program of music including both classical choral music as well jazz songs most people would know,” O’Donohue said.