Choral Director Glenn Carlos summed up the choral concert “Splash” Sunday night, stating, “We have so much to share … this text is about water. And if you think about it, there is so much [around us].”

Water comes in so many different forms: it is in lakes, oceans, bodies and ice. “Splash” represented that; it exposed the audience to different genres of choral music.

The night started with music from the philharmonic choir. This group is the advance group of the two choral choirs. The group’s set had different music mainly from the early and mid-20th century. The choir’s balance played well into each piece performed. The members also brought in umbrellas as props for the third number with jazz undertones for “At the River” by Aaron Copland. The choir seemingly enjoyed performing it, evidenced by the smiles on their faces.

The highlight of the philharmonic choir was the last number, “Rainy Days and Mondays” written by Roger Nichols and arranged by Carlos. Former Valley student and choir member Sarah Proctor— who, according to Carlos, is now a CSUN nursing student—came back to sing along as a soloist in the final number for the first set. Proctor’s voice filled Valley’s packed Mainstage Theatre and transported the audience to a Sunday afternoon gospel choir.

The next choral group that sang was Valley’s college choir. The college choir was the biggest group that night, consisting of 66 members singing a range from the American classic folk song, “O Shenandoah,” arranged by Ruth Elaine Schramm, to an upbeat “Trickle, Trickle” by Clarence Bassett. With the pairing of applied music student David Seta on clarinet, the audience was given a relaxed tone similar to ocean waves. Soloist Ruben Hernandez, along with the college choir, took the audience back in time to the mid-50s with the sock hop vibe “Trickle, Trickle” and was an audience favorite.

The Monarch jazz choir spiced things up, opening with “Summer Samba” by Marcos Valle. The percussion paired with the notes of the song conveyed to the audience a summer island getaway.

“Agua” by Djavan, arranged by Janis Siegel and Carlos, continued the getaway. Soloist Allyson Glaser—an applied music student who is transferring to San Diego State University as a performance major—had good balance throughout her solo with the 17-student choir that served as the refrain and background tones.

The finale was a combined effort from all three choirs— the philharmonic choir, college choir and Monarch jazz—singing “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” featuring soprano Ellia Young and tenor William Behlendorf.

Young and Behlendorf’s chemistry was evident and balanced each other well. Young’s riffs gave the folk song a gospel feel, and Behlendorf was a constant with his stable tones.

“Splash” gave the audience a chance to hear musical interpretations and showed off the work that music students have worked so hard on over the semester, and the audience was not disappointed.