Singing Hoosiers perform spring concert

It was a blend of old and new.

The Jacobs School of Music’s Singing Hoosiers took the IU Auditorium stage Saturday for two performances of its annual spring concert.

The Singing Hoosiers, now in its 64th season, are led by Steve Zegree, the Pam and Jack Burns Professor of Music at the Jacobs School.

“We’ve been waiting for you,” Zegree said to the audience. “What took you so long to get here?”

The Grammy-nominated ensemble sang and danced to everything from classics by Hoagy Carmichael to “Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Following spring concert tradition, Singing Hoosiers alumni joined the group onstage for “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

The performance also featured two medleys arranged, choreographed, costumed and produced entirely by students.

The first medley paid tribute to heroes and villains and included theme songs from “Batman” and “Spiderman,” as well as Cruella De Vil from “101 Dalmatians,” Mariah Carey’s “Hero” and “Zero to Hero” from “Hercules.”

Bloomington resident Daniel Barnett said he enjoyed seeing the students act out different songs and themes from his childhood. He had never seen the Singing Hoosiers before and said he was impressed with how the numbers had a lot of student input.

“It’s not very formal,” Barnett said of the concert. “It’s a lot of fun.”

The second medley, “Dancing Through The Years,” included “The Twist,” “The Chicken Dance,” “The Macarena” and “Single Ladies” by Beyonce.

During this medley, one student impersonated Elvis Presley with “Blue Suede Shoes.” A group of men dressed as women from the ’70s performed ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.”

Bloomington High School South seniors Denise Dorotho and Mackenzie Motsinger came to watch some of their friends who were performing. Both said they enjoyed the show, particularly the medleys.

“It’s been really fun,” Dorotho said. “There’s so much to watch. It’s fun to bounce around and see how everyone’s performing.”

Throughout the night, the audience laughed and clapped along to the music. Zegree said audience enjoyment is key to a good show for the Singing Hoosiers.

“There’s nothing better for a group of performers than to have an enthusiastic audience,” he said. “Can we take you wherever we go?”

The ensemble will travel to Valparaiso April 6. In May, they tour Australia.

Senior member Andrew Wolverton said for this show, the group rehearsed every Monday through Friday for about an hour and 15 minutes each day. The Varsity Dancers, the students who dance at the front of the stage, rehearsed an additional seven to eight hours per week. Everyone practiced the medleys for another three hours each Sunday.

“We are busy, busy, busy,” Wolverton said. “But it’s so worth it in the end to have the final product.”  

He said this show was the Singing Hoosiers’ best of the year.

Wolverton said he and his fellow seniors were emotional since it was the last show of the season.

“The curtain closed, and we just let it loose,” he said. “I’m going to miss my family here in Singing Hoosiers.”