The 80 members of Singing Hoosiers started their Spring Concert on Saturday in classic show-choir attire. The girls wore knee-length red dresses that glittered from every angle, and the guys sported full tuxedos.
However, the outfits didn’t stay for long. There were at least 30 costume changes during the show.
They changed outfits for almost every song on the program, as well as at least 10 times for each of the two 15-minute medleys the students wrote, produced, arranged, choreographed and costumed.
“When we’re backstage, it’s an absolute zoo,” sophomore tenor Kylie Bruetman said. “We’re not sure how we fit all of those costume changes into just a few seconds, but that’s part of the Singing Hoosiers experience. We change styles at the drop of a hat. We want to keep things moving and keep the audience engaged and entertained. There’s no down time.”
The Singing Hoosiers, under Director Ly Wilder and Associate Director Duane Davis, performed almost every style of music, from show choir classics from the Great American Songbook to a medley of recent Daft Punk hits.
Each piece was performed with high-energy choreography, involving synchronized arm and hand movements and dancers in front of the risers.
Bruetman, one of the featured varsity dancers as well as a singer, said the choreographers tailor the dancing to the style of music. The dancers showcased everything from hip-hop and contemporary to ballet-inspired moves and bits of square dancing.
“Our artistic directors want the Singing Hoosiers to be the future of show choir,” Bruetman said. “They’re not afraid to implement new ideas and new genres and songs, but they still are respectful of the old traditions. They have done a great job of balancing those two, keeping the group moving forward but also making sure we don’t forget where we came from.”
The tradition of the completely student-created medleys started five years ago when former Director Stephen Zegree came to IU. When Zegree died in March 2015, the Singing Hoosiers were lost, Bruetman said.
Wilder, Zegree’s mentee and friend, stepped in to fill Zegree’s shoes.
“It was a very heavy weight, his loss last year,” Wilder said. “We have connected with each other through music and love and camaraderie, which is a natural part of the rehearsal process, but it has special meaning when a group of people have to weather a storm like grieving together.”
During the last song of the show, Wilder left her spot on the side of the stage and went dancing in between the rows of students.
Bruetman said she had never done that before, and it was something Zegree had always done.
Bruetman said Wilder told them after the show she could feel Zegree’s spirit, and it compelled her to run across the stage.
“I wouldn’t have ever planned to do that,” Wilder said. “It was just my natural instinct at that moment, and everybody responded so beautifully. It’s the way that music moves me and the way it moves the students and the way it moved him. It was an accidental tribute, but it shows the power of the impression people leave with you.”
When the Singing Hoosiers perform under Wilder’s direction, they can still live in Zegree’s memory and spirit onstage through her, Bruetman said. Zegree always encouraged his students to become the best possible versions of themselves, and Wilder is keeping that message alive.
“We want to make people remember that we can make this world a better place, no matter what’s happening around us,” Bruetman said. “Doc exemplified that more than anything else. Music is such a powerful tool to inspire others to go out and change the world for the better.”
