SPU Treble Choir performs at First Free Methodist Church alongside pianist Vanessa Bruce.
On Feb. 27, the Seattle Pacific University Concert Choir and Treble Choir each performed at the Winter Choral Concert. Dr. Ryan Ellis, the director of Choral Music at SPU and the director of the concert, worked alongside his colleague Treble Choir director Beth Ann Bonnecroy. The two put on a show each quarter, but this time they were joined by special guest Vanessa Bruce. Bruce served as a director, arranger and pianist for the night, and helped them to bring the show to stage at First Free Methodist Church.
Ellis knew that to bring the show to life, they would need a helping hand. Someone with the same fervor for teaching and knowledge about music came to mind quickly. He chose Vanessa Bruce, whom he had initially worked with in 2021 at the Seattle Symphony Aretha Franklin tribute concert.
“She knew all the pedagogy, the methodology to getting voices to do their best in that style. Since then we have done several collaborations,” Ellis said.
In the past, Bruce worked as a middle school teacher and church ministry leader. In both positions, she cultivated her talent for teaching while showcasing her love for God.
“It’s such a joy for [Dr. Ellis] to call me to come and work with students again,” Bruce said. “People need to be real with students. All of you are about to enter the world that is constantly changing. I think everyone needs something to hold onto: a hope. For me, it is Christ.”
While teaching the members of the choirs about vocals, she made sure to use her love of God to influence them, too.
“That was the joy of just working with the students, talking to them, being real with them and encouraging them to live out their lives the way God wants them to,” Bruce said.
The choirs performed multiple traditional African American songs as a tribute to Black History Month. Among these was the finale, “I’ve Got a Robe,” during which the audience was invited to clap along and stand in praise.
“We need to recognize that Black history is our collective history and, I think, our American history. It was a real joy for both of us to model that for the students and for them to see that we’re talking about this; engaging with racial reconciliation still,” Ellis said.
Both Bruce and Ellis recounted teaching the choirs a particular song from the show, titled “Jehovah Sabaoth (God of Angel Armies).”
“With stuff going on in the world today, there’s a lot to be fearful of, but we can make it through anything,” Bruce said.
“The repetition of [the traditional African American] style helps you enter into that culture, that history, and then you just say these wonderful words, over and over and over. That just does something, I think, for our psyche, kind of like a mantra or a prayer,” Ellis said.
Both directors had unique pedagogies that shaped the experiences of students during the rehearsal process. Olivia Mason, a freshman studying environmental justice, sang a mezzo soprano part. She, for example, commented on Ellis: “It doesn’t matter if we’ve done the song 500 times, he will bring the energy and he will praise. You know, he’s having fun.”
Bruce’s storytelling teaching style impacted the students as well.
“When you get a teacher you don’t know that you’re going to get their entire life while you have them. We just got a really big piece of her along with her teaching,” Mason said.
Check out the YouTube page that posts recitals and livestreams other choral events!
