The GCSU Music Department’s Max Noah Singers hosted a choral concert called “Valentine’s Day Rendezvous” at 7:30 p.m. in Magnolia Ballroom. Selections in the concert ranged from songs like Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For” to the popular “From the Start” by Laufey and also included a few original songs composed by members of Max Noah Singers.
The concert served as an opportunity for the Max Noah Singers to show off their skills in a fun and whimsical way to community members and other students alike. The Max Noah Singers’ Valentine’s Day Rendezvous tradition goes back to 2007, with this year being its 18th year in performance.
Jennifer Flory, director of choral activities and professor of music at GCSU, explained the tradition of the annual Valentine’s Day Rendezvous started as a fundraiser, but as it continued it became an opportunity for anyone to do a solo. The fundraiser incited excitement and became a well-liked tradition for the students involved.
“I thought it was a really good way to have everyone in chorus present their own skills and talent and just allow everyone to express their more creative side of singing”, said Jenna Nelson, a freshman music education major.
The last three numbers that the Max Noah Singers performed were choral arrangements of “Wannabe” by Spice Girls, “All-Star” by Smash Mouth and “Cake By The Ocean” by DNCE. Despite being completely different from the songs’ original styles, they were big hits with the audience, gaining thunderous applause, as well as some laughter from the crowd.
“I love the songs that we worked on for this concert,” said Julianna Valcheff, a sophomore mass communication major, and Max Noah Singer. “I’m a Billie Eilish person so I really loved ‘What Was I Made For’ and ‘Wildflower,’ but all the pieces were really fun because they were more modern and based on pop songs so I felt like that was a really nice way to bring more people in to see our songs.”
The Max Noah Singers also serve as an outlet to find and create lasting friendships, according to Valcheff.
“I’ve had people join, and then I see their friendship flourish, and I hope that’s what I’ll do,” Valcheff said.
For the seniors of Max Noah Singers, this concert provided one of the final opportunities to perform with the group they have come to cherish.
“Singing has been something I’ve always loved to do and I love singing in choirs because of the community it builds,” says Anna Ogletree, a senior music therapy major. “Getting to sing with my friends is a feeling like no other.”
Savannah Greene, a senior liberal studies major describes the atmosphere of the Max Noah Singers as empowering and impactful. She expressed that despite changing her major from music she can’t walk away from the music concerts and events offered at GCSU.
For seniors like Greene, Ogletree, Riley Greer and Preston Raburn, this concert was different from years past. The quartet performed an original song written and composed by Greene about their freshman friend group.
“We met orientation day, and we’ve stuck ever since and now we’re graduating,” Greene said. “It’s been four years of a crazy ride with this group,”
For everyone involved, whether performer or audience member, the Valentine’s Day Rendezvous was a show filled with love, talent and passion.