The Oakland Chorale, Oakland University’s most prestigious chorus ensemble, held one of many fundraisers this past week in the Oakland Center to raise money for their tour across Europe this upcoming summer.
The Oakland Chorale has been holding fundraisers these past few months to fund their own tour across Europe. The tour will run from June 23 to July 2. The group will be visiting historically-rich cities that span four countries. In addition to visiting these cities, they will be performing in ancient cathedrals to local choir enjoyers.
Chorale-member, Ava Hayes, is a senior that is majoring in vocal music education. She decided to join the club due to its advanced and diverse collection of music. They cover music from varying genres and cultures, and even perform songs written by their director, Dr. Michael Mitchell.
When asked what her favorite piece to perform was, Hayes was expressive in her admiration of composer and arranger, Stacey Gibbs.
“He is my favorite composer and he does a lot of spiritual songs,” Hayes said. “This semester, we are doing a song called ‘Daniel, Servant of the Lord.’ We’re taking it to Europe over the summer. It’s my favorite song. It’s powerful and ethereal.”
Members of the Chorale will be visiting and performing in historical sites. For the last stop of their tour in Vienna, they will be singing in the St. Stephen’s Cathedral, which is nearly 500 years old.
“Throughout my degree, I’ve been learning about all of these really old, famous composers and where they lived and what their life was like,” Hayes said. “Now we’re actually going to the places where they lived and where they wrote music and performed, it’s surreal.”
To prepare for the European tour, the chorale meets on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and will be scheduling summer rehearsals in addition to the weekly practices. As president of the student organization, Kendal Lavigne spends much of her time organizing and getting the Oakland Chorale prepared for the trip.
“I do a lot of behind the scenes,” Lavigne said. “I make budget requests so we can get stuff like equipment and uniforms, and I’ve gone to meetings with Dr. Mitchell to represent the choir and advocate when they’re not there. I also helped organize a committee to do fundraising with Dr. Mitchell.”
Consisting of Hayes, Lavigne and other members of the ensemble, they composed a committee in order to help raise funds for their tour across Europe. The trip in total costs around $160k, nearing $4k for each member of the 39-person ensemble.
However, after nearly six months of fundraising, the time is nearly coming to an end. Lavigne expressed how she felt seeing it coming all together and what it means to see her choir come together.
“I feel a lot of pride for my choir. We are such a good ensemble full of so many smart and talented musicians. Getting to say that I’m the president, it’s such an honor,” Lavigne said.
More information about the organization and their tour can be found on their Instagram account @oaklandchorale, or on their fundraising page, where they are still taking donations.
