On Dec. 6, members of the Elon Electric Ensemble class had the chance to debut songs they worked on throughout the semester, and the crowd had the chance to see the talent present at Elon.
Music production students performed original songs in McCrary Theatre as a part of the Fall Songwriter Showcase, a yearly concert held by Elon’s Music Production and Recording Arts program. The concert was sponsored by the Elon Department of Music and directed by Elon professor Todd Coleman.
Ten songs were performed, with nine written by sophomore Maya Spencer, junior Shreyas Kumar, sophomore Keller Knight and sophomore Maya Cohen. Coleman performed one of his songs, as well.
Coleman is the professor for MUS1090: Electric Ensemble. He is also a bassist, composer and founding faculty coordinator of Elon University’s Music Production and Recording Arts program. He has composed music for film, escape rooms and documentary television.
At the showcase, Coleman performed his song “If I Ever Write A Love Song.” Student-written songs included Spencer's “Sit and Watch,” Kumar’s “City on Fire,” Knight’s “Bonnie & Clyde” and Cohen’s “Fever Dream.”
Also performing were senior Major LeGoullon on electric guitar and senior Theo Loehr on drums.
Senior Jordan Kelberg praised the Electric Ensemble for offering music production students the chance to work on their ideas.
“I’m sure there's organizations where bands can write other people's music,” Kelberg said. “But it's a cool opportunity to make your own songs and show Elon the type of songwriters on campus.”
The Elon Electric Ensemble is a course offered to Elon students interested in music production. During the course, students present a song they’ve worked on and, with input from other students, add backing instrumentation.
Throughout the semester, the song is workshopped to include backing vocals and other instruments, including drums, bass and keyboard.
At the end of the semester, students perform the songs with the ensemble. Spring semester concerts have a theme, while fall semester concerts showcase the original work of the students.
It’s becoming harder for smaller musicians to perform their original work, said Spencer, which is why these concerts are important for her and other students.
“A lot of times venues want to hear cover music, because it's what people want to hear,” Spencer said. “So having spaces to perform songs is really important, especially at a school like Elon that has so many fantastic musicians who make original music.”
This is not the first time this year Elon has promoted musicians on campus. Elon Student Union Board’s SUBFest featured performances from The Shed, Limitless, Yards Davis and more.
Knight said this program gives students the opportunity to explore music production and express themselves.
“It's a great opportunity for students to not only share their original songs with an audience, but also gain the experience of workshopping their songs with a band,” Knight said. “To be able to think past just a guitar, a piano or a voice.”
The date for the Electric Ensemble’s spring concert will be announced in spring semester.