A member of BYU’s Men's Chorus shares his experiences preparing for a dynamic performance
This year’s BYU Spectacular! lived up to its name with energetic performances by campus ensembles and guest artists Ben Rector and Hilary Weeks — the product of hard work behind the scenes during an expedited rehearsal process. Brian Merrill — a member of BYU’s Men's Chorus — shared his experiences preparing for the event. “Something a lot of people don’t know about Spectacular! is how last-minute a lot of the preparations are,” Merrill said. “We started learning our songs a week before the performance and sang with Ben Rector a day or so before we performed together. It’s amazing that all of the coordination for Spectacular! can come together so fast.” Due to the collaborative efforts and diligence from each BYU performing group — Men’s Chorus, Young Ambassadors, Ballroom Dance Company, International Folk Dance Ensemble, Vocal Point, BYU Cougarettes and the Dunk Team — BYU Spectacular! showcased a refined performance that could have easily been rehearsed for months.
“I love all of the collaboration between the performing groups,” said Merrill. “It’s really cool that we have this community of performers and we can come together at events like this. It makes it better than just one or the other performing.” This year’s Spectacular! performance was also an emotional time for BYU’s Men Chorus as conductor Rosalind Hall announced her final year as director of the choir. “I wasn’t going to do Men’s Chorus until I found out that it was going to be her last year, so I rearranged my whole class schedule,” Merrill said. “It was really special that we sang a Welsh folk song medley because she’s from Wales. The fact that we got to do something native to her is pretty meaningful for most of us.”