Choir concerts often follow the same itinerary. More often than not, the members are dressed in formal attire and stand stoically as they belt out every lyric, if not to perfection.
But there isn’t any harm to shaking things up, is there? Judging by a concert hosted by Timpanogos High School Show and Chamber Choir, there isn’t much harm at all. That is, unless you’re laughing too hard at the comedic performance that they put on.
After all, you just might. Accompanied by Miss Melissa Thorne on piano, the choir performed a hilarious rendition of the popular song, “William Tell Overture,” by Gioachino Rossini.
Don’t worry if the name doesn’t sound familiar, you’ve likely heard it. Although the song premiered in 1829 when it was performed in the opera, William Tell, it has yet to lose its influence.
It was even used at the theme song for the TV show, The Lone Ranger.
The opera may not have been a comedy but Rossini was known to be a bit of a comic himself.
According to Song Facts, “Rossini was not only famous as a writer of comic operas, but was also renowned for his wit. On one occasion the composer congratulated the diva Adelina Patti with the words ‘Madame, I have cried only twice in my life, once when I dropped a wing of truffled chicken into Lake Como and once when for the first time I heard you sing.'”
Needless to say, we’re sure he would have been proud to witness the performance these high school students put on.
The boys and girls’ choir started out in three lines. The girls were in front of the line while the boys were in the back.
One of the girls snaps her fingers and the performance begins.
The students fan out across the stage, one step at a time, and begin mimicking the instrumental to the song using their voices.
Suddenly, they turn their back to the audience. That is, besides one member. Instead, she continues to face the crowd and lets out a loud neighing sound. The audience loves it.
They laugh hysterically and clap as she quickly turns her back against them.
Before we know it, the famous horseback riding theme song is being sung by the choir.
Five boys pretend to ride horses as they collapse into the middle of the stage.
They form a line and are shortly followed by the rest of the choir.
Soon, they are all gathered into a group. One of the boys in the front row pretends to be pointing at something and as his finger moves about the room, the eyes of his peers follow. They go from one side of the room to the other.
Truly, it’s hysterical.
Dressed in formal attire, these students are pulling off comedic elements with ease.
Not only are they classy, but they’re genuinely hilarious.
They perform simple, yet silly dance steps across the stage. Moving from one row to the other, all while making the audience laugh with their silly facial expressions. At one point, the young men even grab their collars as if saying, “look at me,” to the audience.
In the end, they file back onto their bleachers. They let out a long sigh and sit down to catch their breaths. But soon they are back on their feet to complete the last few measures of the song.
With a quick shake of the hips, they let out their final note that leads into a bow.
The audience applauds and cheers just as loud as before.
What a performance! If you’d like to join the other 2+ million viewers by watching the video, you can do so below!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
