The Singing Hoosiers will culminate a year of activity and performance with its 67th Annual Spring Concert.
The first show will take place at 2 p.m. April 8, and the ensemble will take the stage at the IU Auditorium and share its diverse musical style with audiences.
Kylie Bruetman, a junior and member of the public relations and marketing team with the ensemble, said this is a crazy time of year for the group.
“With assignments, projects, papers and tests piling up, it can get a little overwhelming sometimes,” Bruetman said. “But the excitement that we all have leading up to the show helps us push through the last week to get all the details taken care of to make this show special.”
This year has been one of change for the Singing Hoosiers. Along with routine performances, the group has been working on furthering community outreach.
Though in the past it has been difficult for the group to make it out to middle and high schools to talk about Singing Hoosiers, this year it made sure that connection became a priority, Bruetman said. The group enjoyed the opportunity to interact directly and teach the students about the experience of being a Singing Hoosier.
“We also collaborated with the IU Marketing Department to be part of their April Fools Prank video,” Bruetman said. “We had a few of us placed on campus buses to sing to student in hopes increasing school spirit. It was a ton of fun to shoot and got lots of views online.”
Bruetman said the latest performance, like past shows, will both pay homage to the group’s roots while looking at ways to refresh the performance for new audiences.
“We’re featuring artists and arrangements from all over the globe, giving us and audience members a unique opportunity to experience music from places they wouldn’t normally seek out,” Bruetman said. “Diversity and connection is incredibly important to the group and Ly (Wilder) wanted to showcase that through our programming.”
The highlight for members of the ensemble is the student produced medleys. Bruetman said these require extra effort and rehearsal to plan, but those two 15-minute arrangements emphasize the talent of the group’s members.
The concert will have something for everyone, Bruetman said. Audience members from any number of backgrounds can come and find elements of the show that resonate with them, and that reflects the diverse backgrounds members of the ensemble come from as well.
“A majority of us are not music majors, and the fact that we can all pursue music at such a high level without majoring in it is an opportunity that I do not take for granted,” Bruetman said. “The love and passion on that stage for music and performing is bound to inspire people and appreciate the art they have access to at IU. At the least, it’s guaranteed to bring a smile to someone’s face.”
