The Way Sound Travels

When the double doors of the practice room open, a warm sound spills out and seeps into every corner of the Music Building's hallway. It is bright, full of focus, and the kind of magic that only a choir can bring to music. Once the doors are open, there is no way to cage the beautiful noise, but that is just the nature of song, and no one in the hall wants to put it away anyway.

Filled with blithe voices and splendid overtones, the Eastern New Mexico University Chamber Singers are a special group of 28 college students whose passion is sharing music and song. The students audition each fall for a spot. When they become members, they grow their voices together through every practice and sectional rehearsal, and each lecture on what mouth shape to make for a specific sound, but the best learning for them has always been their travels. The group travels to perform at high schools, churches, and other choral concert venues around New Mexico, and sometimes, other states and countries. They are the bright, beautiful voices of ENMU.

Something like magic happens when the group travels together. Long hours on a bus, hanging out all night in hotels, and experiencing new ways of life bring the students closer to each other and their voices. The ENMU Chamber Singers find travel to be an integral part of their education in performance. The students do tours across New Mexico and West Texas, have been to Europe, and every four years, they take an unforgettable trip to New York City. These opportunities for travel put students in contexts outside of their norm, letting them 'see themselves' somewhere new, somewhere that inspiration can be found. In Europe, it's performing music in venues such as cathedrals where the music was conceived and sounds authentic; in large cities like NYC, students can see others who are living out their dreams as performers after having spent a lifetime dedicated to the discipline of practice and making art come alive. These student experiences and opportunities have become a major reason why students audition for the choir.

Some of the students had never left New Mexico and a few had never been on a plane before, but they headed to New York City this past March, to learn, grow, and experience what is possible. As the Chamber Singers learned and memorized a 22-minute arrangement of songs that celebrated America's 250th Anniversary with all American compositions, all they could do was buzz with excitement.

“Because of this trip, when I start teaching music, I will be able to tell my students about the experience of music, not just the performance of it.”

And, when the day finally came to perform, they felt their nerves build up as they waited for their stage time to sing in Alice Tully Hall, a concert venue in Lincoln Center. They knew the songs, but they didn't know the space. Worry about how the sound might change and how their voices might echo differently vibrated underneath their excitement. They were in a new city and on a new stage at a sold-out show. The students gave each other pep-talks and excitedly nervous smiles as they took their positions, and when their voices came out, they shined.

"Our sound was bouncing off the walls in the most beautiful way," Zoe Medrano (BME29), a student in the choir, said. Another singer, Jaylord Lobaton (BM25), mentioned, "I had never heard us like that before! The way the venue was shaped created a nice hug for our voices." The choral pieces were modern compositions with songs by Aaron Copland and Moses Hogan. Some songs had animal sounds that required the group to sing as they meowed or quacked. The students are still brimming with excitement from their performance, "Our overtones were efficient and easier to make. We weren't overenunciating," Mackenzie Baker (BME28) smiled, all the joy of a performance done right behind her words.

The streets of New York City were a completely different experience for the singers than their time on the stage. They enjoyed their free time, catering their NYC trip to their wants and needs. "That city really does not sleep. There was inspiration everywhere," Hamilton Gillis (BME28) says with enthusiasm. Nicole Matinez Cumba (BME27) adds brightly, "I got to achieve one of my lifelong dreams of seeing a world-class performance at the Metropolitan Opera, and I don't think it would have happened without this trip."

The group saw a Broadway show together that solidified many of the student's intentions to continue pursuing music in any way they can. "It really showed me what all is possible when everyone is super committed and passionate about their work," Lobaton, enamored with the impressive performance, said of the show.

As the group stood by the stage doors to say hello and gain extra inspiration from the Broadway actors and actresses, they noticed that many of them were walking home, then into a CVS or bodega, and walking out with snacks, drinks, and meals, like any other person in the city. Gillis was excited by this ordinary act, "how does someone go from being on Broadway to being a normal person? It put a lot into perspective for me." The show was invigorating, and the students bonded with everything they experienced in those magic streets of NYC.

The singers came back to Portales, New Mexico, exhausted from their intense week, but they brought back a spark within their song that will stay with them forever. They have a changed sound; they trust each other and collaborate better after their time in NYC; the once-in-a-lifetime experience was a gift. "We came back from the performance with the courage to try new things and a willingness to go deeper and explore more with our sound," Martinez Cumba said of the growth felt within the choir's voice. The experience also inspired the students as individuals, "I learned and saw how I could love music again. There were so many artists there who were creatively fulfilling their passions, and we don't see examples of that in Portales too often," Gillis thinks about what he is bringing home from the experience.

When a group of college students sings together, everything matters. Vocal connection, timing, performance nerves, and even friendships impact the health and sound of a choir. Traveling and performing for crowds around the state, country, and internationally is the glue that keeps those voices strong and inspired. Our Greyhounds perform, teach, and make music around the world today because of the traveling opportunities they were able to have through ENMU.

"Because of this trip, when I start teaching music, I will be able to tell my students about the experience of music, not just the performance of it," Martinez Cumba says, emphasizing the importance of traveling.