In an evening of world music and fund-raising, the Bakersfield College Choir and Chamber Singers performed their spring choral concert titled, “Elements” in the Edward Simonsen Performing Arts Center on April 26.

The show featured a variety of songs and music which celebrate life as a whole under the theme of the elements of earth, air, fire, and water.

Jennifer Garett, Bakersfield College’s director of choral and vocal studies and conductor for the evening, affirmed that the goal for the night was to bring the elements to life through the different sounds they performed.

The music ranged from styles like Mozart to old sea shanties and more modern works like “Tchaka” by Haitian-American composer, Sydney Guillaume.

The Synergy Chamber Players performed a few of the songs alongside the choir as guest musicians including during their rendition of John Rutter’s “For the Beauty of the Earth” and Mozart’s “Placido e il mar Andiamo, No 15”.

Garrett expressed her gratitude to the guest players, stating,

“We have had the pleasure of having them before…the sound of everything changed the moment they stepped into rehearsal Wednesday night.”

Toward the end of the show, Garrett presented the winners of a gift basket raffle from which the ticket proceeds help fund the choir and their next international field trip.

For a few of the attendees, the highlight of the night was the sea shanty, “What Shall We Do With a Drunken Sailor?” performed by a combination of the men from the choir and the chamber singers. During this performance, several of the singers pretended to be asleep, sang the song in a round, and stumbled off the stage pretending to be drunk, garnering laughs from the audience both during and after the performance.

A couple of audience members, Arno Mejia and Sandra Paz, stated how much they enjoyed this particular song,

“When you move to the music, it brings the performance more to life,” Mejia said, explaining how they made it fun for everyone involved, including the audience.