BY Joseph Braun
Staff Reporter
How are you celebrating this Valentines Day? No plans? No problem. On Feb. 14 the Sacred Heart University choirs will be hosting their first annual “Mid-Winter Night’s Swing” performance.
“The theme is a big band, New York speakeasy – a 1920s feel,” said head of the choir program, John Michniewicz. “I think it’s going to a very fun event. It’s definitely going to be a party atmosphere and I look forward to it.”
The choirs that will be singing in the concert are Liturgical choir, Blended Hearts, SHUpermen, and 4 Heart Harmony.
Senior Stephanie Doheny, student president of choir operations and Features Editor for The Spectrum, is looking forward to the event.
“I sing in Blended Hearts,” said Doheny. “We are singing some really fun songs! One is titled ‘Java Java,’ and the other is ‘Ain’t Misbehavin.’ Both songs are upbeat, and we have a great time singing them.”
Doheny is just one of the many seniors that will be graduating in May.
“Performing in this concert is very important to me because it is my last first concert of a semester in the choir program,” said Doheny. “It’s hard to imagine that in a few months, I’ll be singing in my final performance at Sacred Heart.
Preparation plays a huge role when it comes to each of the concerts, and the experience that they give to the audience. The choir program makes sure they put on the best show possible, and that requires painstaking work.
Along with the music, the program also supplies its own props and decorations that fit the theme.
“A lot of hard work and preparation goes into every concert that the choir program puts on. We want to make sure we sound as best as possible. All of the students working on this concert have especially been working hard on all of their solos and intricate melodies,” said Doheny.
Keep your eyes open, and your noses too, before the concert because there will also be a reception in the UC with different kinds of tasty food items.
“In the UC we are having a reception before the concert for families and students. We have a French fry bar, cock tails, frizzy flappers (pineapple drinks), cookies, cupcakes, and chocolate cover pretzels, so make sure to bring your appetite,” said Michniewicz.
Along with the choirs and band, Sergey Dementyev, a professional ballroom dancer will also be dancing in the concert. Dementyev is part of the World Dance Sport Federation.
This concert will be the first of its kind for the choir program.
“Traditionally, we had concerts that the audience would just sit and watch, but this concert will have a very interactive concept behind it, and I look forward to seeing how it goes,” said Michniewicz.
The concert will take place in the Edgerton Theatre at 7:30 pm. Doors open at 7:00 pm.