Vocalis Sings in D.C.

While many people at Moravian were celebrating Celtic Fest this past weekend, Vocalis was performing in Washington, D.C.  As a third year member of Vocalis, I'm here to tell you all about it.

First, for those who don't know, Voalis is a 16-person mixed choir, which means it is co-ed.  Auditions are open to anyone who is part of the Moravian Choir and auditions are held each fall.

Vocalis, along with director Dr. Paula Zerkle, piled into two vans and headed down to D.C. Saturday morning.  When we got in the city, we had some free time.  We were right by Farragut Sqaure, a small park in the city, and some chose to stay there and relax.  Other chose to go sightseeing, as some major attractions were close by, such as the White House.

As for me, I chose to go sightseeing with a few other Vocalis members and saw the White House, along with some other D.C. attractions, such as the Eisenhower Executive Building, the Treasury Department, and the President's Park, where World Wide Day of Play happened to be taking place.

Around 5 p.m., we got warmed up and then performed at a Moravian alumni event Saturday evening in the lovely John Paul Jones room at the Army Navy Club.  President Thomforde kicked off the event by first speaking about the latest new on Moravian College.

Then, Vocalis sang about a half hour's worth of material.  Our repertoire had a wide range of pieces, from classical pieces and madrigals to pop pieces like "Can't Buy Me Love" and "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?"

But, by far, the best piece of the evening was "Zombie Jamboree," a rhythmic a cappella piece that even showed off some of Vocalis awesome dance moves.  We closed our performance with a group improv, which is like scatting but everyone sings at the same time and everyone sings a different vocal line.  At the reception afterwards, everyone congratulated us on a job well done.

On Sunday, everyone was up bright and early for a church service at St. Paul's Moravian Church in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, a few miles away from Washington, D.C.  We sang once again at the service and President Thomforde gave the sermon.  It was the church's 40th anniversary, so it was fitting to have us and President Thomforde there representing Moravian College.

This was Vocalis first big trip in several years and it was a huge success.  Lately, we have also been becoming more present on campus; a few weeks ago, we sang at the 9/11 tribute at Moravian.  We are hoping to do even more in the future, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for more Vocalis!