Southland Male Ensemble Performs at South Shore Opera Company

The male ensemble from the Southland College Prep Choir performed this month at the South Shore Opera Company of Chicago.

Elizabeth Norman-Sojourner, an internationally acclaimed soprano and the first artistic director of the South Shore Opera Company, is the choir director at the Richton Park High School. The concert, entitled “Elizabeth Norman-Sojourner and Friends,” featured Norman-Sojourner and other artists such as tenor Christopher Joyner and the musical singing trio Tre Diva.

It was a return to performances for the company which has been on hiatus for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The September 9th concert was held at the South Shore Cultural Center on the city’s South Side.

Norman-Sojourner, who teaches at Southland and is also a voice and music professor at Chicago State University, said she was happy that her students had an opportunity to perform alongside local professional concert artists.

“It’s the next step for them,” Norman-Sojourner said. “It’s imperative for our young and talented students to see what their future could be.”

Stephen Ford, a Southland senior, performed Nessun Dorma, an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot. Ford, who has been a member of the choir since freshman year, performed the same piece and earned a perfect score in the Illinois High School Association solo competition last year. The 12-member Southland male ensemble performed Agony from the musical Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim.

“As a little kid I didn’t think about being on stage,” Ford said. “But as you progress, you get more comfortable. You start to feel proud and accomplished about sharing your gift.”

Morgan Colvin, a Southland junior who has been in the choir two years, said it was a wonderful experience to perform in a show with his fellow students, Mrs. Norman-Sojourner and other professional artists.

“I really put in my best effort so that we could put on a really magical performance that everyone could enjoy,” Colvin said. “

Norman-Sojourner said the male ensemble was a hit with the audience. As a result of their “stellar” performance, Norman-Sojourner said that she and male ensemble spokesmen Ford and Colvin were interviewed days after the concert by the master of ceremonies of the evening broadcast journalist Darryl Dennard for his radio programs on Chicago stations Inspiration 1390, V103 and WGCI.

“The audience was very taken with the young men,” Norman-Sojourner said. “These students are the future. Their performance really shows what our young men can do if given an opportunity. All they need is an opportunity.”