Breast Cancer gets a voice in 'Sing for the Cure'

"We will keep on singing 'till we're heard," reads the closing piece, "One Voice."\nAnd they will be heard. \nAt 7 p.m. on Sunday evening at the IU Auditorium Singing Hoosiers -- under the direction of Michael Schwartzkopf, Bloomington Instrumentalists and Singers, and IU alumnus and two time Grammy award winner Sylvia McNair -- will hit the stage for the highly anticipated Sing for the Cure event to raise awareness about and funding for breast cancer research.\n"I think that the concert has come along really well. Everyone has captured the spirit of it and I think is really totally committed to this cause which makes this an extra special event," Schwartzkopf said. "It's the most emotional piece I've ever been involved with."\nDuring the concert, a trio of Singing Hoosiers will also perform a song whose lyrics were written from the perspective of a mother with breast cancer as a part of the piece entitled "Who Will Curl my Daughter's Hair." Junior Hannah Willman said the lyrics are particularly poignant: "Let me see another year, give one more hug, dry one more tear, mark one more inch upon the wall, live to see them standing tall." \nWillman is more than familiar with the disease. Her mother, who will be in the front row Sunday night, is a breast cancer survivor. She also lost her aunt three years ago to the disease.\n"I went home and read the lyrics and it just meant so much, everything hits home," Willman said. "I feel I was really blessed to even be given the chance to be a part of this."\n"Who Will Curl my Daughter's Hair" is one of the many high emotional points in the work as a whole, which consists of 10 movements, or pieces, all from different family member's eyes -- including the partner's and child's -- in addition to the mother battling the disease. Each piece is also based on a true story.\nThe pieces are performed not only from different perspectives, but also in different styles, Schwartzkopf said the concert will include a gospel piece sung by everyone, a piece sung only by women, a jazz piece sung only by men and straightforward choral pieces. \n"It's a combination of setting -- to music, to narration," Schwartzkopf said. "Sylvia McNair will set the mood, her narration is extremely, extremely emotional."\nMcNair will arrive Saturday for the dress rehearsal.\nThe Hoosiers have now rehearsed with the community choir, said design team member Jennifer Naab, and the orchestra has also begun rehearsals, all of which have gone smoothly. \n"I'm really looking forward to Saturday because it's the first time everyone involved will come together," Naab said. "What's also so great are the different age groups involved. It's very inter-generational and it's cool to see everyone come together."\nThe ensemble includes a 57-piece orchestra from the IU School of Music, 50 community singers who are donating their time and a chorus of 115 Singing Hoosiers.\n"What really started off great was Sunday," senior Lauren Orenga said. "We worked with the older choir and I talked to some of the women and they're really excited about it; it will be really fun."\nSchwartzkopf said it was a "great collaboration" and a "community spirit kind of effort." \nThe performance will be different for the Singing Hoosiers in that most of their past shows involved a lot of choreography and repertoire consisting of Broadway and contemporary music. \n"Most of our performances are just that -- they're performances," Willman said. "This concert is benefiting a cause and it's a cause that the Singing Hoosiers truly supports."\nBenefits from the show go to Bloomington Hospital's Olcott Center for Breast Health, the G.I.R.L. Friend Fund, and the local Wabash Valley Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. \nIt is likely the show will strike a soft point among audience members at some point or another. \n"One of these songs, if not all, is going to hit everybody at some point," said Orenga, whose mother also has breast cancer. "'Come to me Mother, the child's voice,' hits me because of my mom. For me, it's going to be a little more powerful because I've been there." \nOrenga said almost everyone has cried at least once at practice because one piece or another has struck them.\n"It spans the whole gamut of what a person goes through with breast cancer and that's what people will take home," said Barbara Light, event chair. "People who haven't been affected are going to see how this affects a patient."\nSo what it comes down to is three more days. Three more days until Barbara Light can see her dream of the Sing for the Cure performance coming alive here in Bloomington and hitting the IU Auditorium stage for a night of truly touching musical storytelling. After two years of planning and preparation the event has finally come together.\n"It's going to be great," Light said. "Things are going very well. I'm very excited and glad that I did it. I'm scared to death, but it's great! It's been well, well worth it."\nThe community support that Light and her team have received has been outstanding. \nBloomington Hospital Foundation has provided administrative support, the Bloomington Hospital and Healthcare System provided the printing, and Hirons and Company Advertising Inc. has done all of the posters and programs.\nNaab said they're expecting a large turnout; she encourages people to pick up their tickets in advance.\n"The word has gotten out and it's a really great way to get the word out about breast cancer awareness," Light said. "I think one of the best things about it is that it's different. I feel music touches people in a whole different way."\nTickets, which cost $12 for IU students and $22 general admission, are still available at the IU Auditorium Box Office; by phone through Ticketmaster (812-333-9955); and on the internet by visiting www.iuauditorium.com.