The Student News Site of Sacramento City College

The Express

The Student News Site of Sacramento City College

The Express

The Student News Site of Sacramento City College

The Express

City College choirs hit the high notes

Choir1

Professor Daniel Paulson acts as both a teacher and maestro in his choir classroom shouting, “That’s beautiful! Exactly! I love it! Here we go, and!”

He stands next to the piano with the members of the VOCALe choir and gives the downbeat, and they begin singing, “The Fly and the Bumble Bee.”

Though this is only his third year at City College as a full-time music professor, Paulson says his passion is admired by many of his students as he teaches them what he calls “choral methods of learning how to sing in an ensemble.”

Paulson has a bachelor’s of music in Vocal Performance from Sacramento State University, and a master’s of music in Choral Conducting from the Three-Summers Masters of Music program at California State University, Los Angeles.

Bringing all his years of experience to City College, Paulson says he was able to design “a rich program.”

He says he teaches his students to sing with every ounce of passion they have, while staying composed and remembering to breathe. Paulson demonstrates his philosophy by demonstrating specific techniques, often standing in front of the class singing to them in French.

Christianne Schultz, physics major and first-year student, says, “He shows you not only what it’s supposed to sound like but what it’s supposed to feel like. He’s a very visual teacher.”

Participants in both choir programs, VOCALe and #CollegeChoir, have been putting in hours in and out of class, and are also offered coaching by Paulson and other vocal professionals to better improve the students’ skills.

Third-year student Joan Torres, music major and VOCALe tenor, says,
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“He pushes us, not to be hard, but to do good, because he really cares and that’s what makes us really like him. I’ve seen him work with tonedeaf people, and after just one practice, there’s already a huge difference.”

Though both programs have different levels of singing, each student puts in a lot of time, hard work and determination to strengthen their voices, says their professor.
“#CollegeChoir is about the art of singing,” says Paulson of the group where many singers start. “People come with all types of skills.”

“VOCALe focuses on the choral ensemble,” he adds about the group that requires an audition to be accepted.

The perfectly pitched ensembles work vigorously while also giving back to the community, Paulson says. For example, VOCALe and City College will make an appearance Oct. 13 at the on-campus Child Development Center to teach the children about music through playing interactive games and singing nursery rhymes.

“It’s going to be modern and fresh arrangements of time-tested songs,” says Paulson.

The event is open to the public, and alongside interactive singing, the event will also include theater students acting as storytellers.

Paulson says activities like this are a way for the choirs to give back to the community. VOCALe will pair up with Cosumnes River College choirs Tuesday, Dec. 15, at 7:30 p.m. as part of “Collegiate Sings,” a group of about 200 singers performing gospel songs at the Parkview Presbyterian Church in downtown Sacramento.

The choirs’ grand finale of the semester will take place Tuesday, Dec. 8, in the campus Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Called “Among the Stars,” the performance will feature a song that Paulson co-wrote called “Aether.” Tickets are $10.

Says VOCALe’s Schultz, “The song is made up of what astronauts see in space — 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets. It’s absolutely amazing!”

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