Theatre Review: Pacific Chorale Fills Cal State Fullerton with Love

Pacific Chorale

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“Language of Love” music program was magnificently displayed with grace and humbleness through rhythmic heartstrings and warm melodies. Performed by members of Pacific Chorale at Meng Concert Hall in Clayes Performing Arts Center at California State University, Fullerton on Saturday, February 24, 2024. Artistic direction led by Robert Istad, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at California State University, Fullerton.

Other commendable accomplishments include being an established Grammy Award-winning conductor for the group since 2017 and serving on the Executive Board of Directors of Chorus America and as Dean of Chorus America’s Conducting Academy. Pacific Chorale’s mission statement is to inspire our community through artistry and innovation in choral music performances and education programs.

Pacific Chorale
PHOTO CREDIT: Priscilla C. Scott

The concert celebrates love in all its complications and complexities. The accompanying three-piece instrumental band included accomplished musicians in their own right; David Clemensen on piano, Sean Emch on bass, and Matthew Smith on drums. The evening emphasizes selections of classic and popular songs to flesh out the emotions, connections, and phases of love’s stronghold on human unification.

“La Vie en Rose” (1945) was lovingly sung in the original French language with soloist Stephanie Shepson setting the intrinsic mood for the course of the intimate evening. “Les Chansons des Roses” (1993) spearheaded the group’s spiritual vocals in a grand display highlighting range and discipline. “L-O-V-E” (1965) brings the light back from intermission with a toe-tapping and finger-snapping earworm.

Pacific Chorale
PHOTO CREDIT: Priscilla C. Scott

A delicate rendition of “Something in the Way She Moves”(1968) with soloist Nate Brown on his soulful guitar. A powerfully meticulous “I Will Always Love You” (1973) with soloist Emily Border. Other soloist delights include Sammy Salvador with “Your Song” (1970), Alan Garcia with “The Luckiest” (2001), Rebecca Hasquet with “When We Were Young” (2015), and Chelsea Chaves and Matthew Kellaway with “And So It Goes” (1983). The evening concluded with the timeless romance banner of eternal love as featured in the film and Broadway musical Moulin Rouge, “Come What May” (1996) spiritually performed by soloists Eleen Hsu-Wentlandt and Michael Fagerstedt.

Pacific Chorale
PHOTO CREDIT: Priscilla C. Scott

“Language of Love” chorus music concert by Pacific Chorale was a tasteful post-Valentine after-dinner mint that refreshes the mind and spirit with more than just chocolates and flowers. The love language of music surely resonates throughout all of the group’s performances. Pacific Chorale’s moving vocals are an angelic serenity of pristine magnitude. The spectacle witnessed at the Meng Concert Hall in Cal State Fullerton is certainly as pronounced as performances inside the prolific Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa.

Learn more about Pacific Chorale at www.PacificChorale.org including their upcoming schedule.

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