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Nathan Henderson

Jazz Ensemble hits the right frequency


A crowd of listeners and a sea of harmonies filled Long Hall’s band room as Troy University’s Frequency held their first major concert of the semester.


Troy University’s vocal jazz ensemble, Frequency, bounced rich harmonies off Long Hall’s walls for a full audience last week. The group, accompanied by a four-piece rhythm section, sang seven songs for their Fall concert.


The songs ranged from the fluid and enduring “Strange New World” arranged by Kerry Marsh to the hopeful and heartfelt “Orange and Blue” arranged by David Von Kampen.


Aside from a small performance held earlier in the semester, this was the ensemble’s first long performance of the fall.


“It was wonderful,” said audience member Nate Burch, a choir teacher at Pell City High School.


"What a great way to start it off.”

Back in August, “Frequency” Director and Lecturer of Music Carlton Copeland gave the ensemble members a stack of songs for this performance. Since then, he has been chipping away with the group’s members learning the notes, rhythms and adding nuances to those songs.


“There were obviously weeks and weeks of practices and things like that,” said Tahj Jordan, a junior music industry major and Frequency bass singer from Nashville, Tennessee. “No one knows that sometimes we are still learning this stuff right up until the concert, but everything just falls together in place, and we trust the process.”


Copeland said this performance marked the first group performance for at least two of the many freshmen in the ensemble.


“Everybody sounded so good, and I just really enjoyed it,” said crowd member Maranda Knight. “I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite.


All of them were just what I like. It was wonderful.”


To add the final touch to the performance, the ensemble invited everyone in the audience to participate in the singing of the final song, “Open Invitation.” Singers on stage taught audience members the song’s recurring “La-La-La Yea” melody that they would go on to sing together.


A highlight of the night’s performance for Burch was the performance of “Open Invitation” and its invitation to the audience.


“I guess the energy the combo gave to the singers, and then they gave that right back and shared it with the audience,” said Burch. “I thought that that was special.”


After the last note was sung on stage, each audience member rose to their feet for a standing ovation.


Though the applause died down and the concert ended, the song did not. The same “Open Invitation” melody could be heard sung throughout Long Hall until everyone had left its doors,perhaps surviving even further on into the night.

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