The LLCC Choir performed at the Illinois ACDA (American Choral Directors Association) Fall Conference on Saturday, Oct. 16 at DePaul University in Chicago. The program focused on hope, resilience, and rising to action in the face of personal and global crises.

Various members of the audience, including Illinois ACDA leadership, complimented the concert to Laurie Lewis-Fritz, assistant professor of music and choir director. Comments included praise for a balanced sound and fantastic singing; compliments on the students’ enthusiasm and level of preparedness; a wonderful, emotional and meaningful program; and moments of brilliance. Comments were also made about the emotional impact of the staging of the opening song, “How Can I Keep From Singing,” which reflected how choir has looked for many groups across the world the last 18 months. The President of Illinois ACDA also noted how genuine and flexible the students were during the conference and their obvious  love of singing and spending time together.

Outside of the performance, the students had the opportunity to hear the other performing choirs, attend various sessions on choral singing and sing along at repertoire reading sessions. They also learned from various speakers, including headliner David Brunner, a well-known and award-winning choral composer, and Eric Johnson, the winner of the prestigious Decker Award.

The LLCC Choir was selected to perform via an audition process that included submitting audio recordings and programs from the past two years. LLCC was the only community college with a performing choir at the conference. LLCC was one of three colleges with performing choirs at the conference, the other two being Augustana and the University of Illinois.

Students expressed feeling inspired by the performances and that they learned a lot about choral music. Performing at the conference deepened their love and enthusiasm for choral music and singing. The students often led standing ovations for the other performing choirs. They represented LLCC and its music program with professionalism, class, respect and joy.