As the lights dimmed and chatter settled, director for the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State Sita Frederick opened the show.<\/p>\n
Expressing her gratitude for the \u201cabundance and generosity\u201d within the community, Frederick encouraged audience members to \u201ctake a deep breath together\u201d in preparation for the show ahead.<\/p>\n
As the Soweto Gospel Choir took the stage, members immediately broke into song \u2014 integrating movement and music into a cohesive performance.<\/p>\n
After its first performance of \u201cMelodies,\u201d Choir Master Shimmy Jiyane spoke on the representation and pride of South African culture within the choir\u2019s music.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou may not understand the language or lyrics,\u201d Jiyan said, \u201cbut you will understand the feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
The choir continued with singing and choreography to \u201cLitshonile Lilanga,\u201d \u201cSechaba\u201d and several other pieces highlighting South African culture.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is so much going on yet it is a very cohesive unit,\u201d audience member Julian Canjura said. \u201c[They] are a wall of sound, and it is only like, twenty people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frederick said the choir used \u201call of [its] gifts\u201d to convey the African music with the \u201cvoice and human body.”<\/p>\n
\u201cThey passed the microphones, candles and props around, and we didn\u2019t even notice because they are just so fluid,\u201d Canjura (graduate-applied linguistics) said.<\/p>\n
Audience member Adam Baldoni (graduate-physics) said the choir was \u201cincredibly in sync,\u201d during the performance.<\/p>\n
After a short intermission and costume change, the Soweto Gospel Choir returned for its final set of songs.<\/p>\n
Christmas classics such as \u201cSilent Night\u201d and \u201cWe Wish You a Merry Christmas” led to a powerful finale with the song “Stand Up.”<\/p>\n
After announcing the show\u2019s end, audience members chimed in and chanted for the choir to perform one more piece before the night concluded.<\/p>\n
The Soweto Gospel Choir delivered one final piece, \u201cHallelujah,” which resulted in the entirety of the audience to rise and join in before erupting into applause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think people were really touched by the artists,\u201d Frederick said. \u201cTo have this nurturing space where we can be together and be inspired is just a beautiful thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the choir\u2019s design of choreography and music, Frederick said the performers used all kinds of \u201cartistic modalities\u201d to communicate their message that \u201call of our human struggles are connected and we can learn from each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are all connected at the end of the day,\u201d Frederick said. \u201cThat is such a valuable thing the arts contribute to our society.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Taking the stage with colorful costumes and vocals, the Soweto Gospel Choir, a South African gospel group, performed “Hope: It\u2019s Been A Long Time Coming\u201d Penn State\u2019s Eisenhower Auditorium Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13112,"featured_media":22909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,31],"tags":[7,14,32],"class_list":{"0":"post-22912","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"category-music","9":"tag-apie-project","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-music"},"yoast_head":"\n