Report: Bison Glee Club Concert of Spring Mini-Tour 2008

Richard Huggins

The Bison Glee Club went on a mini-tour May 17-21, culminating with a concert at Broadway Baptist Church, Ft. Worth, TX, where BGC alum and former BGC director Michael Cox is Minister of Music. Michael also is on the music faculty of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. It was my pleasure to drive over from Tyler, and Dan Baiz also was in attendance.

Several unrelated circumstances had collaborated to reduce the touring group from the 23 that began the year. (Of the original 23, 15 were first-year pledges.) Also, *14* of the original 23 were freshmen or sophomores, and only a couple of seniors were in the group. Down to 19 by the 2nd semester, four more had to miss the tour, leaving 15 singers plus director David DeSeguirant and their accompanist, Michael Dean of the OBU music faculty. 

Of course, perennial BGC bus driver, Fred Raymon (aka “Derf Namyar”) was on hand. Fred is the sole link to every BGC since Dean Angell’s retirement.

The concert was held in the Fellowship Hall of the church, as the inspirational program to conclude the church’s weekly Wednesday supper. Risers were set up along one side of the room. The audience remained seated at their supper tables.

Fine Performance

Despite their small size, the guys turned in a fine performance. Looking resplendent in full, formal white ties and tails, they also looked about 10 years old! (My, the deceptions of aging!) Upon being introduced by Michael, they marched into place (no singing). Dr. D. gave the signal, a pitch was offered, and they launched into the first title of their sacred section, “Rise Up!” A PDF of the concert program will be posted later.

Throughout the evening I observed these characteristics: a light tenor sound (think C. L. Bass)… solid rhythmic precision … good blend … good dynamics within themselves, but limited loudness (not the virile sound characteristic of Angell BGCs)… no intonation problems … fully memorized … inconsistent facial expression but better than at Homecoming, when they were petrified … decent sense of humor … excellent conducting (they are in good “hands” with Dr. D., who not only conducts with great command [reminds me of Jim Woodward] but who also conducted the entire concert without music).

Their concert was in three sections: sacred, secular and classic BGC traditionals. The secular portion was a thematic segment called “Across the Pond,” and consisting of Irish songs. Some of them were a little hard to stay with, but all were done well. A few had some enjoyable whimsy to them. The most stellar of this group was “Danny Boy,” arranged by Michael Cox. This is a beautiful (and difficult!) arrangement of the Irish classic by one of OBU’s finest music graduates. Those at Homecoming may recall hearing it as the music behind the 2nd section of the “BGC Road Trip” slideshow.

Notable to me was the fact that the concert had no popular music (ie., show tunes, ballads, etc.). The third segment consisted of four BGC traditionals, two of which (“He’s the One,” the club song, and “Ride the Chariot”) are more post-Angell than the others, which were “Dry Bones” and “Hawaiian War Chant.”

"Dem Dryyyyyyyyyy Bones!"

“Dry Bones” was done well, and they have a cute way of getting into it and concluding it. Following the preceding number, one guy just leaves the group, causing consternation on the other faces as they break discipline and watch this guy. The guy goes to get a suitcase which he brings in and opens. As he begins taking “treasures” out, the other guys rush over to get the “treasures” they want. These are, of course, the noisemakers and clangers.

As they get outfitted with their treasures, they all fall into place, after which the student conductor gives them the downbeat. This produces a gosh-awful harmonic conflagration, followed by an emergency cutoff. Next the toy-xylophone holder mallets a pitch and the resulting downbeat is much more successful.

The performance itself is good and certainly brought back many memories. At the conclusion the guys simply leave the risers and throw their “bones” back into the suitcase noisily and unceremoniously, which is actually pretty funny.

A movie of their performance of “Dry Bones” will be posted on the web soon; I’ll let you know when.

Any alums present were invited to sing on Hawaiian War Chant, which was fun. I related to the audience the fact that if you go to Walt Disney World in Orlando (and possibly Anaheim, too) and visit the Tiki Bird exhibit, which features a whole collection of animatronic birds, you will see that they sing Hawaiian War Chant! As you sing along, smug in the fact that only Hawaiians and BGCers worldwide can do it, it’s a priceless opportunity to (1) amaze your friends (2) cause your spouse’s eyes to roll and-or (3) embarrass your children!

The concert concluded with “He’s the One.” The audience gave the club a warm thank-you of applause.

All in all it was done well. As I listened and observed, it was apparent that they could have used the full 23 that they started the fall with, and the four who couldn’t tour, for there are some things that only numbers can provide, particularly given that the 15 were young. The tenors, while good in their own right, begged for a few reinforcements. The club’s sound was academically excellent, it just lacked power in places where power would have been appropriate. Dr. D. did well in constraining their sound to what he had to work with, to what they could do without compromising their blend.

A Word on the Bus

On the bus afterwards I had a chance to speak to them for a few moments. I gave them a long-overdue group atta-boy for their Homecoming performance, remaking at how special it was when you think back to the membership and performance crises of the two years that preceded it. I told them that I hoped they sensed how much the alums wanted to convey a sense of encouragement to them, as evidenced by the sustained and vigorous applause they were given at the Friday rehearsals as well as the Saturday performance.

I pledged our continued support, and that we would formalize ourselves as a supportive alumni body (stay tuned). Meanwhile, I said, I hoped they all would stay enthused over the summer and come back to be part of what will be the 2nd of (in my estimation) 3-4 rebuilding years (see separate message), to see the BGC rebuilt in not only members but in spirit and campus/state respect and admiration.

The BGC was well-represented by this group and they are on their way. We MUST, MUST, MUST support them, We owe it to all that the BGC meant to us to stand behind these guys, to convey to them the spirit of the BGC and to assure them that they have 900+ guys and gals standing on the risers with them at every performance.

And we will!