Limestone chorus to perform selections from tour

The Limestone College Show Choir will join the college's chorus for a spring concert April 15 highlighting a recent performance tour in Washington D.C. The Limestone College chorus will treat local residents Tuesday to selections from their recent tour in Washington.

Chorus students will be joined by the community chorus for a free spring concert at 7:30 p.m. at Fullerton Auditorium. The chorus will perform many of the songs from its March 7-11 tour in the Washington, D.C. area.

Students performed concerts in the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore and a downtown Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va.

"This was a performance and recruitment tour where we performed in a couple of high schools and different places in Washington as a way to let people know about Limestone College," chorus director Gena Poovey said.

Students found time for sightseeing in Washington. Visits to the White House, a night tour of national monuments and a performance at the Armed Force Retirement Home were among the tour highlights.

"It was nice to sing for the veterans at the Armed Forces Retirement Home," Limestone College chorus member Katie King said. "We sing a lot of patriotic songs in the chorus. It was great to be able to perform for the veterans and get to thank them for their role in serving the country."

The Washington tour was an unexpected homecoming for Limestone College chorus member Daniel O'Brien. One of the concerts was performed at his alma mater, Archbishop Curley High School.

"It was a little weird to be back at my old high school," said O'Brien, a saxophone player who came from Baltimore to Limestone College to study music. "I got a chance to walk around my high school a little bit. It's an all-boys school so the young men from my school enjoyed the opportunity to see all the women singing in the chorus."

The spring concert will feature songs from the Washington tour such as "The Heavens Are Telling," "David's Lamentation," "Crossing Over There," "The Dodger," and "Swinging With the Saints."

The Limestone College Show Choir and Vocal Ensemble will perform an arrangement of "Homeland" by Randall Stroupe and "You Can't Stop the Beat" from the musical "Hairspray."

For her part, Poovey said she is looking forward to seeing her chorus perform following the Washington tour.

"One of the things I am most pleased about is the progress the chorus made on the tour. This was the first time many of the chorus members had the experience of being a part of a touring chorus and having the pressure of performing every day," Poovey said.