The Gentleman of the Hall and Pretty Sharp opened the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Dec. 1.
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Photo courtesy of Claudia Emanuele/Staff Writer[/caption]
The groups joined together to perform “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and Pentatonix’s version of “Hallelujah” onstage.
Sean Davis, a sophomore pre-science major, sang with the Gentlemen of the Hall, an all-male a capella group. He said the group rehearsed frequently, individually and as one, leading up to their performance.
Davis said he personally found “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” more challenging since he had a solo in the piece.
The timing was the most important and challenging part of both songs, he said. “My favorite moment in the entire experience, would be the first time that everything just clicked into place,” Davis said. “We had all the dynamics correct and everyone was in the same moment.”
“Singing at the Rockettes was unbelievable, we could not have had a better group than we had going in.
We definitely did our best performance there,” Davis said. “I want to thank Gentleman of the Hall and Pretty Sharps for the experience. Without their group leadership I would have a lot less experiences and a lot less friends than I would have today.”
Phoebe Hall, a sophomore religious studies major, was in the audience watching the group performance. Hall said she especially enjoyed “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
“It began with the usual slow tune,” Hall said. “But then after the words, ‘the most famous reindeer of all’ the soloist paused, counted to four and began a fast-paced rendition of the chorus with the rest of the group. I really enjoyed watching that song as well as ‘Hallelujah.’”
Hall added, “Although they were only on the stage for five minutes, they left a lasting memory for me as an audience member, as well as a friend of a performer.”
Jordan Green, a junior secondary education and music and theatre major, discussed his experience as the music director for Gentlemen of the Hall. “The purpose is to provide an opportunity for guys that have a passion for singing and performing and also to give back to the Seton Hall community,” Green said. “The Gents are like a family.”
Green credits Pretty Sharp for arranging the performance and inviting them to perform at Radio City Music Hall with them. Green said he felt the performance went really well. He said they were well received by the audience and had a lot of fun. “It was an amazing feeling to know that we would have an opportunity to perform at such an iconic place,” he said.
Green said the group had to rehearse two to three times a week at the beginning of the semester, and then eventually every day as the performance date came closer.
He said his favorite moment was the group’s victory trip to Five Guys and the Nintendo store to celebrate their successful performance.
Green said, “We hope to do more big performances in the future. It was really tough getting everything together, but everyone rose to the challenge and our group is now better for it.”
Werdeh Hassan can be reached at werdeh.hassan@student.shu.edu.
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