At their vocal best

Ex-choristers of  St. Albert Catholic Church at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) are back with songs of praise. It was at a reunion organised by the church, reports EDDY UWOGHIREN (400-Level Medicine and Surgery).

Years after they graduated from the University of Benin (UNIBEN), their ties with their alma mater remain strong. Last week, former choristers of the school’s St Albert Catholic Church returned to campus to worship.

As they filed out on the stage, clad in elegant native attires to render songs, their appearance attracted little applause because the congregation did not expect much from them. However, they held members of the congregation spellbound with sonorous voices as they rendered songs and praises.

The excited congregation rose to applaud the ex-choristers as they delivered their choreographic dance and melodies. That was the scene at the Alumni Choristers’ Reunion of St Albert’s Catholic Church University of Benin (UNIBEN) last Saturday.

The event tagged: ‘Uma Familia-One Family’, witnessed massive turnout of students and alumni, who arrived early for the red carpet session.

The organising committee Chairman, Dr Peter Agbonrofo, a Consultant-General Surgeon at UNIBEN Teaching Hospital, said the event was a home-coming for the ex-choristers of the church.

He said: “This church, over the years, has been blessed with young and talented composers and singers, who have consistently turned out beautiful compositions in various languages nationwide. These former students have raised the standard of liturgical music ministration. We are proud of their achievement.”

Agbonrofo said he was not surprised the choristers thrilled the congregation with “mind-blowing performance”, despite years of their graduation from the school. He said the church was reputed for giving youth the opportunity to develop their talents in the service of God and humanity.

The ex-choristers rendered various gospel songs in traditional and classical ways. At intervals, they changed their attires to reflect the mood of the song rendered.

Their songs were in various dialects to give every ethnic group a sense of belonging. The songs reminded the congregation of the grace and mercy of God upon them, and reflected the Catholic faith and supremacy of God.

Highpoint was the joint performance of selected songs by the ex-choristers and members of the the church choir. The concert also featured a fund-raising for the activities of the choristers and special prayers for the church.

At the end of the event, Noel Orji, who graduated in 2006, praised the church for organising the programme, which, he said, created a platform for the ex-chorister to share ideas on how to move the choir group forward.

Wema Okungbowa, a 400-Level Medicine and Surgery student, and Mrs Ijeoma Ogbomo, a 2013 Pharmacy graduate, said the event exceeded their expectations. Wema said: “Ordinarily, one would have thought the ex-choristers had lost their voices, but their performance was impressive.”