By Marisa Taché
Staff Reporter
On Saturday, April 7 in the University Commons, Sacred Heart University’s ladies-only vocal ensemble, SHU L.O.V.E., held their annual Pops Concert: “Wings Of Compassion: Songs to Embrace Humanity.”
Love was the theme of this year’s Pops Concert, with music that embraces humanity and the differences amongst individuals worldwide.
The concert was musically diverse and highlighted the theme of love with every song that was performed.
SHU L.O.V.E. opened the concert with Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry ‘bout a Thing,” followed by performances by Blended Hearts and 4 Heart Harmony.
“I think it was great to see all the choirs singing together to touch on an important topic throughout the world today,” said sophomore Leo Garizzaffi. “I enjoyed hearing the music, as well as the student testimonials on what they are doing to bring change around campus, and the community at large.”
The Pops Concert is a yearly tradition hosted by SHU L.O.V.E. With different themes each year, SHU L.O.V.E. has impacted not only various members of the Sacred Heart community, but also the performers a part of the Choir Program.
“I feel so empowered and very confident about myself,” said junior and SHU L.O.V.E. member Elizabeth Squicciarino. “I’ve always been a bit self-conscious, but SHU L.O.V.E. has made me more confident in myself and to me this concert was so special because it was all about embracing yourself and loving one another.”
The repertoire for “Wings of Compassion: Songs to Embrace Humanity” emphasized the need for hope and change throughout the world.
“The last piece ‘This Is Me’ from ‘The Greatest Showman’ was probably my favorite song of the night. Our goal was to bring people together and I really believe we achieved that,” said sophomore SHU L.O.V.E. member Annie May. “All the women in our group are really supportive towards one another and I think closing the show with ‘This Is Me’ was a great way to end the night.”
Assistant to the Director of Choral Programs and Director of SHU L.O.V.E., Anna DeVeau-Jalbert, expressed throughout the concert her reasoning for picking certain songs that all revolved around the idea of flying.
“A lot of the music I chose for this concert had the concept of flying and flight—either in the lyrics or in the title,” said DeVeau-Jalbert. “I believe that the theme of flying is about uplifting others and coming together to embrace humanity and our differences.”
DeVeau-Jalbert is excited about how the night turned out and she hopes it inspired the audience to help bring change to the world.
“We worked so hard for this,” said DeVeau-Jalbert. “In rehearsal you have an idea of what it is going to sound like, but as a performer, myself, I know on stage I always sing a little differently and I think some of these women are the same way. The energy from the audience really helps and I think tonight was some of the best ways that these ladies performed our songs.”
