Sure on This Shining Night
Composed by Samuel Barber.
Performed by the Los Angeles High School Festival Choir at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

This is an enormous choir made up of over 850 students from around 25 different schools. Their sound echoes through the concert hall with great power. The pitches are spot on, with no fluctuation and the voice parts are clearly heard. Sopranos and altos weren't perfectly in harmony with each other and the tenors, rarely, sung out with minor intonation problems. The last chord of the piece also wasn't perfectly in tune, but these are minor problems to the entire performance of the piece. Amazing dynamic levels with this grand choir, the alternating dynamic phrases are well executed. Its not an easy task to get so many people to create a single product of music that sounds fantastic as this did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iE3EDIBCWc

This is a well organized choir with a balanced sound, clear harmonic rhythm, distinguishable voice parts, and a driving motion that really pulls the audience in for the performance. A majority of the students have character and are enthusiastic, which successfully reflects the conducting of the director. They are moving to the music, displaying interest, which in turn affects the sound of the choir. Towards the end, a high soprano floats effortlessly through the harmony of the choir. The inner voice are audible, creating clear harmony. The bass has a driving force to it that grounds the choir to stay in key and in tune with each other. The choir is not perfectly in tune with the piano, but its very close. Their enunciation of the language is clear and the dynamics really add to the motion of the piece, skillfully crescendoing to short climatic moments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dvKohV-Hgo

This is the Kentucky All state middle school and jr high choir. The tone of this choir throughout the piece is warm and bright. Their rhythm and phrasing is sweeping and gentle, a quiet but impacting performance. It appropriately matches the character of the pasture, the field, the idea of farewell.