Sunday, Oct. 20, the Sir Christopher Wren Building’s chapel was transformed into a reverberating concert hall with distinctly traditional choral sound as the Christopher Wren Singers, the oldest a cappella group on the College’s campus, hosted its annual homecoming concert.
Donning their signature green outfits paired with denim jeans, members of the group performed an hour-long series of tunes ranging from foreign-language Renaissance hymns to early 20th-century African American spirituals.
The Wren Chapel was particularly suited to such a performance given the quantity of traditional religious pieces performed at the event. For example, the spiritual “Sit Down Servant” tells the story of a follower of God unable to take rest from his pious actions, even upon reaching heaven. The Wren Singers sang in a relaxing lull when the song’s subject first reaches the afterlife and changed to a near-chaotic chorus of tension as he pushes back against any notion of idleness. Thanks to the Chapel’s acoustics, “Sit Down Servant” and all other pieces performed engulfed the building in the group’s intricate use of melody and harmony.
“With the Chapel being so historic, you’re imbued with a sense of purpose when you’re in there, making you feel like you have to honor the space with your music,” Wren Singers president Katherine Beale ’25 said. “The acoustics are amazing for singing a cappella. You get a great reverb, but not too much that it’s overwhelming. It’s just such a perfect space.”
The event also served as a promotion for the group’s two soon-to-be-streaming albums, “Wren and Now” and “Wren’s Green,” both recorded within the Wren Chapel. While the former was recorded in 2023, the latter was partly finished in 2019 before production was shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic; its tracklist was finally completed in 2022. The two compilations promise to give a taste of the Wren Singers’ distinctly classical style, one that is unique amongst other on-campus vocal groups.
“We’re a bit different from the other a cappella groups on campus, because most of them do pop music, and we’re over here doing choral music,” Beale said. “I feel like we can show the breadth of a cappella music that can be done by students.”
The concert also offered the chance to feature the skills of soloists. Beale, for example, performed a solo during a rendition of a spiritual called “Listen to the Lambs,” which was lent additional emotional impact thanks to her lilting soprano, uplifted by the soft voices behind her. In addition, Jackson Kubin ’25 used his uniquely high tenor on a solo in “Love’s Old Sweet Song” as he sang of love’s everlasting nature.
“I loved Jackson’s solo,” attendee Bryson Hetzel ’28 said. “I was moved to tears a little bit from it, because it was just so beautiful.”
In addition to live performance, the homecoming concert also provided attendees with lessons on classical choral pieces and traditions. Wren Singers director Rebecca Altman ’25 gave brief explanations on the meaning behind each song before it was performed. These tidbits of context offered an educational component to the event, especially given the traditional nature of the selected pieces, which was unlikely to be known by most audiences.
While the pieces performed varied greatly in style and dramatism, the Wren Singers’ set order allowed audiences to ease their way into the music. The opening selection “Il est bel et bon,” meant to represent a conversation between two women about the merits of their husbands, had an animated, rhythmic bounce to it that gave a cheerful take on a genre that is often known for its melodrama. Such an opener was a deliberate choice, according to Beale.
“We try to open with something that’s a kind of palate cleanser,” Beale said. “We never start off with a loud spiritual. Instead we’re trying to ease into the concert and let it form peaks and waves.”
The performance’s audience consisted of about 25 people, who were mostly alumni and performers’ family members rather than fellow students. According to attendee Bennett Snyder ’25, this makeup reflects a wider trend across campus where many performances and events fall through the cracks thanks to a lack of advertisement, student interest or combination of the two.
“Often, I don’t know what’s happening or being performed,” Snyder said. “Sometimes it’s just not well-advertised.”
Hetzel added his suggestion for consolidating events and increasing student awareness.
“I think if we had some kind of newsletter that was sent out with every upcoming event that any group could join in on, it would help a lot,” Hetzel said. “Following the Instagrams of different groups and trying to find events can be kind of confusing and makes it a little more convoluted.”
Even without many students in attendance, the Wren Singers’ show reflected the spirit of Homecoming by incorporating alumni into the final few songs, calling them up onto the stage from the pews that held the audience. The group’s final song, “Barbara Allen,” was the only one performed without the aid of music binders. Instead, current and past members alike stood with their arms wrapped around each other, rocking back and forth as they performed the tragic English folk ballad.
“After someone gets into the group, ‘Barbara Allen’ is the first song they sing. It’s also the last song we sing at our final concert, as well as on the last day of classes,” Beale said. “We like to say it’s the first song you sing in the Wrens and the last song you sing in the Wrens. It’s a very emotional one.”
Snyder shared his enjoyment of the alumni’s role in the concert and its traditions.
“It’s nice to see all the alumni get up there,” he said. “Seeing all of those people up there having fun singing the songs is really meaningful. That’s why I love to come to Homecoming concerts every year.”