In the third annual Rock Gold concert, the Orchestra of Southern Utah teamed up with Southern Utah University’s Opus chamber choir and concert choir to perform orchestral arrangements of rock, pop, country and disco songs in front of a sold-out Heritage Center Theater on Thursday, Nov. 20.
The orchestra was directed and conducted by Carylee Zwang. Zwang is a graduate of SUU, has been with OSU for over two decades and has performed with the Hubei Symphony Orchestra in Wuhan, China.
The concert featured solo performances from more than 25 singers and musicians, including two SUU students and SUU music professor, Dr. Andrew Briggs.
Briggs was a soloist in “Believer” and “YMCA” and also directed and sang with the choirs.
“It was wonderful to stand up there and make music with them,” Briggs said. “It was very fun as a director to sink back into being a member of a group.”
Briggs rehearsed his “Believer” performance for around two months, and his solos were a surprise to his choirs until a week before the concert.
The concert featured songs by artists like The Beach Boys, Aerosmith, Nirvana, Metallica and AC/DC. For Xander Stensrud, performing these songs in his first semester as a member of Opus was a dream come true.
“Obviously, I love the choral stuff, but when I was told that I get to perform classic rock songs with a live orchestra, it sparked something in me,” Stensrud said. “My whole family has listened to rock and punk rock since I was born, so I’ve loved it my entire life.”
The packed audience adored the show, with raucous applause after each song and a three minute-long standing ovation at the end.
“My favorite songs were “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Barracuda,”” said attendee Corrinne Fullmer. “I loved everything about the performance. The soloists, orchestra and choir were all so amazing and I loved all the little musical details.”
OSU will perform Rock Gold next year on two dates to be determined. To find out more about upcoming music department events, go to the music department website.
