On Sunday, April 17th, the Centenary College Choir held its yearly tradition of hosting the Easter Sunrise Service in the Shell. It was a cool morning, the sun not yet up, when the service began. When the singing started, I was pleasantly surprised at how crisp everyone sounded. Given that it was six in the morning, I expected to hear some tiredness in their voices, but none was detected. I was especially impressed by the sopranos who sang high and clear. If you are not familiar with the premise of Easter Sunrise, a mix of scripture readings through narration and songs tell the story of the Last Supper, the betrayal, the crucifixion, and the rise of Jesus. Each song either propels the story further or adds beautiful sounding context. Personally, my favorite song was “Go to Dark Gethsemane.” The lower notes created a haunting effect when paired with the lyrics about Christ’s death. This song was also Cassidy Jones’s favorite. Cassidy’s favorite part of the song was the end. She said that she loved “the chords during the ‘it is finished hear him cry’ section and the contrast between being so loud and then singing on ‘hear him cry.’” 

My favorite part of the program was the narration. Tyler Garret, who played Narrator, and Mary Caruthers, who played Mother Mary, stole the show. Mary’s performance as Mary had me nearly in tears during the part where Jesus has died. Mary took us through peaks and valleys as she recounted what had happened through the eyes of Mother Mary. Tyler gave a strong performance as well. Although his part was not as emotional, it was captivating nonetheless. His strong voice rang out through the Shell as he read the Scripture.

I had the joy of being able to talk to some choir members about their favorite part of participating in the Easter Sunrise Service. Mary Caruthers told me that “hearing all the birds waking up as we sang. There’s really nothing like it in the world, it’s such a beautiful sound.” I cannot agree more. The birds were every bit a part of the choir as the singers were. It was like the birds knew that we were there to celebrate, so they sang even louder for us. Charlie Roppolo recounted to me that although “it’s hard to wake up that early and sing some of those notes, it's always worth it to me when we’re singing Hallelujah and the sun shines through the clouds and everyone gets on their feet. Very beautiful moment.” It might have been a struggle to hit those notes, but the effect paid off. The end of the concert was absolutely stunning. The birds were chirping, the sun had risen, and the choir sang so beautifully. I surely will not forget my first Easter Sunrise Service. If you are sad you missed it, don’t worry. It is on the Centenary Choir Facebook page. I highly encourage you to watch it.

Arden Miller

I am a junior Theatre major, focusing on Set Design and Directing. Outside of theatre, I write poetry and have been published in Pandora.

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