Many people would be surprised to learn the little-known group Old Gold is actually, well, old.
The Old Gold Show Choir has been restarted on campus this semester; it disbanded in 2004. The group has received plenty of revamping from the original Old Gold Singers of 1957.
UI sophomore Katie Boothroyd led the efforts to restart the group and has since held auditions, selected an executive board, and collaborated with the group on preparing for its first performance of the semester coming up at 6 p.m. Oct. 20 in the IMU second-floor ballroom. Admission is free.
The group will perform in collaboration with several UI a cappella groups, including Iowa Agni and Take Note.
UI senior Sydney Hayes was selected to be a member of the Old Gold executive board, a position in which she has thrived by playing piano during rehearsals, teaching music to the group, and assisting with choreography.
“Show choir has always been an underdog thing,” Hayes said. “We want people to know we exist as a group again, to be interested and join.”
For Hayes and Boothroyd especially, there were plenty of reasons to invest time in the group.
“There aren’t a lot of musical-theater opportunities on campus, so this is a way for students to work on their craft,” said Boothroyd, a theater major planning to pursue a career in musical theater.
Hayes plans on traveling to New York to work in musical theater after graduation in May 2014.
“[Old Gold] is almost a direct lead-in to what I want to do in the future,” she said. “Show choir, like musical theater but even more so, is about the spectacle.”
The group has been dedicated to producing a spectacle for audiences all semester.
“Since we’re just starting out, it’s very different,” said sophomore Emily Archer. “It’s been fun trying to figure it all out as a group and do this together; it’s a pretty dedicated little group.”
That devotion has been essential, because the group is entirely student-led, which means there must be student responsibility and student ownership of their actions.
“We need good student leaders to get [Old Gold] going and keep it running strong,” Hayes said.
As a senior, Hayes is zealous that the group be firmly established to ensure it continues after she graduates. Hayes and Boothroyd also expressed the wish to involve more students than just performers.
In fact, one of the pieces the group will perform at the concert was arranged entirely by UI flute major Emily Duncan.
“We’re a show choir, but we branch out a lot,” Boothroyd said. “There are a lot of solo pieces and a lot of opportunity for other people to get involved.”
Following their second performance of the semester in December, Old Gold will hold auditions in January in the hopes that more students will wish to participate in some capacity.
“Show-choir performance is open to anybody and everybody,” Hayes said. “Even the audience can dance along in their seats. We don’t try to thin the line of who can appreciate art.”
MUSIC
