Chords rang through a quiet Belk Library as Elon Music Theatre students entered a stage between the shelves. Tonight marked a start for freshmen performers and the beginning of an end for the seniors.
In partnership with Elon's radio station WSOE and Belk Library, students from the Music Theatre department came together to perform a cabaret for the third annual “Tiny Shelf Concert.”
The performers sang a mix of songs from last week’s Family Weekend performance “Collage,”paying homage to Dolly Parton, appreciating cultural roots and more.
Music Theatre senior Kate Ragan and senior Eric Pettit coordinated the students during the show.
“It’s used to welcome in the first years and as this jumping-off point, saying goodbye to the seniors,” Ragan said.
Pettit said he was excited for the evening as the program had previously talked about doing an NPR style “Tiny Desk” collaboration. He said this was the first time it was actually able to happen.
“We were nervous going in because we’d never done anything like this before,” Pettit said. “We just didn’t know how it was going to go and it ended up being a fantastic experience.”
Alison Van Norman, coordinator of Learning Commons and associate librarian, said this was a fun way to encourage all students to come to the library. She said she is a liaison librarian to the art, music and performing arts department and after seeing a recent “Ragtime” concert on NPR, she thought it was the perfect time to bring in Music Theatre students.
“If folks come in just for something fun, low stakes,” Van Norman said, “then later on if they actually have a need where they need help with something, they're more comfortable asking for that.”
Among the songs performed was “Somewhere” from “West Side Story”, which Elon junior Kevin Rodriguez said was a tribute to Latine students’ Hispanic heritage.
“We would like to dedicate this number to our ancestors who travelled to America to find that somewhere,” Rodriguez said as he introduced the number.
Beyond singing, Pettit said the technical team was excellent in making it all happen.
Junior and WSOE production director, Amalia Zucker said the event brought different campus groups together for a moment of musical collaboration.
“I just love being able to have a live music performance on campus,” Zucker said.
Though Zucker said hearing the performers belt in Belk was amazing, it wasn’t the best part.
“It’s even cooler to be able to be a part of helping other people see and hear them,” Zucker said.
To end the evening, all classes of Elon Music Theatre sang “I Will Turn to You” written by Elon alumni Dan Gibson and Christopher Staskel.
Van Norman said she always gets teary eyed when they sing this song.
“It’s very sweet seeing the two bookends of the classes come together and passing the baton to new folks,” Van Norman said.