A standing ovation followed the 90-minute show, after which the audience was gifted with an encore by “Expressions of Silence,” whose members are students in the sixth through 12th grades.
Each member of the choir lives with a hearing impairment; some of the students are deaf and some are hard of hearing.
Although the choir did not “sing” vocally, they “signed” expressively and danced to songs sung by the likes of Stevie Wonder and Alison Krauss. The result was a powerful and joyful concert that was equal parts dance and performance art.
A quick review of the choir's résumé makes it clear why and how the young performers exude such confidence.
Among its lengthy credits, Expressions of Silence has performed for the Montana Legislature, the Montana Council of Exceptional Children, at the Music Educators National Conference - and with the renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Oak Ridge Boys.
In June, choir members pack their bags for Washington, D.C., where they will perform before the nation's leaders at the National Anthem Project's grand finale.
“We are so thrilled and honored to have this choir perform for us,” said Mary Jane Belz, a UM professor who teaches music education.
“I first came to know about this choir when I read about them in a national journal, and then I was fortunate to see them perform at the Music Educators National Conference in Salt Lake last year,” Belz said. “I couldn't believe they were from Montana, and I immediately invited them to come to UM to perform and work with my students.”
Each year, Belz invites a wide variety of musical performers who have diverse abilities and come from diverse backgrounds to teach her students about the eclectic talents they will encounter when they become music teachers.
Earlier in the week, Belz's students learned from four American Indian drummers and two dancers, and from Bonner first-graders who showed how they learned the names of every U.S. president - in order - through song.
“My students, when they enter the greater world and become music educators, will teach everyone - they will have all kinds of children,” she said, “and one of my purposes in my methods class is to make my students aware of the diversity they will encounter in a classroom.
“Today, we learned that a choir that doesn't sing makes music in other ways.”
After the Thursday performance, the choir and its directors fielded questions from the audience.
Jennifer Wasson and Dessica Wilson explained that during the performance, one of them keeps the beat and the other dances the routine with the performers, serving as a visual cue very much like a human metronome.
Choir members explained that they could feel the pulsing beat of the bass through their feet.
Tearra Donovan, a senior at the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind, urged the theater full of potential teachers not to ignore or give up on students who can't hear.
Help them learn how to enjoy music, she said, “because we love to perform and it gives a sense of pride.”
From the audience came shouts of praise: “You guys are outstanding! We had a blast!”
Reporter Betsy Cohen can be reached at 523-5253 or at bcohen@missoulian.com
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