Elon Music Theatre majors from the Class of 2018 presented its annual concert for local retirement community.
The Elon Music Theatre Class of 2018 presented an hour-long concert of traditional and contemporary solos and duets from the musical theatre cannon for residents of the local Twin Lakes Retirement Community in Burlington on the weekend of April 21-22.
It is a long-standing tradition for the senior Music Theatre majors to present a concert in April at Twin Lakes, led by Catherine McNeela and Dan Callaway, instructors of Music Theatre Senior Seminar. This year, the residents were in for a special treat as Music Theatre alum and current faculty member Dan Callaway ’00 sang “A Bit of Earth” from “The Secret Garden” to culminate the concert. This performance was extra special as McNeela had assigned him the song in their voice lessons together during his senior year at Elon.
Each year, McNeela and Callaway join forces to teach Senior Seminar within the Music Theatre program. The focus of the class is to prepare seniors for the practical side of being an artist, from tax deductions to well-organized repertoire books.
However, seniors are also encouraged to think about their broader impact on the world as individuals and vessels for positive change.
Through opportunities like the Twin Lakes concert, the senior class is afforded a chance to share their talents with a community who may have limited access to the arts. The importance of community outreach is heavily emphasized in both the Music Theatre program and the university as a whole.
The senior class united for the final number in the show, Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend,” which was followed by a standing ovation from the Twin Lakes Community.