Spring Break
South American serenade
The singing cadets spread the Aggie voice to several South American countries through song.
By: Stacy Edwards
Issue date: 9/5/07 Section: News
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The Texas A&M; Singing Cadets, often referred to as "The Voice of Aggieland", embarked on a ten-day tour of South America in May, performing in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.
"The purpose of the Singing Cadets is to enhance the public relations of Texas A&M; University through musical presentations," said Cory David, a senior history major and tour manager for the Singing Cadets. "In order to decide where the group should perform, our sponsors look to where Texas A&M; has little or no presence. Our position is to get Texas A&M; out there and to make a good first impression. It's a huge cultural exchange."
Junior civil engineering major and Singing Cadet public relations manager Clint Milner added how the Singing Cadets' presence in South America not only served to represent Texas A&M; University, but the United States as a whole.
Davis said the audience responded extremely positivily to the Singing Cadets and the choir's performances, especially in a Catholic church in Argentina, when the audience started singing along.
"They really enjoyed our spiritual hymns, because they could recognize the tune, even if they didn't understand the language," Milner said. "They also seemed to really like the Beach Boys and the Phantom of the Opera."
Andy Liddell, a former student, and his sister, Katie Liddell, a senior civil engineering major, were also present at the Singing Cadet's Buenos Aires concert.
"The concert was held in a beautiful old church that was packed with local people," he said. "You should have seen the little old ladies clapping along! I really enjoyed it, and the Signing Cadets did an excellent job representing our school."
After the concerts, the Singing Cadets were able to interact with the people through question and answer sessions.
"We had the biggest response in Rio, where almost the whole audience stayed," Davis said. "We talked about everything from relations between the United States and Brazil, to our involvement in Iraq."
Milner explained that, in order to bridge the language barrier, the Singing Cadets had members of the choir translate the introductions into Spanish and Portuguese for the audience. In addition, the choral group had their concert pamphlets, with music lyrics and song descriptions, translated to the local languages.
This isn't the first time the Singing Cadets have traveled abroad on tour. Since their establishment as the "All Male Glee Club of Texas A&M; University" in 1893, the choral group has visited countries ranging from Germany to Australia to Mexico. In addition, the group has performed at locations as notable as the White House.
"We have a very big history, and it's very rooted in A&M;," Milner said. "Our main purpose is to enhance Texas A&M;, and everything we do is judged on that standard. We get to do a lot of things through this organizing that other's just don't get to do."
In addition to the choral group's experience in South America, a group of 15 members participated in the Miss Texas USA Pageant that aired July 1st.
"A lot of people don't realize our involvement with the pageant, but it's a lot of fun," said Milner.
Tryouts for the Singing Cadets take place the first two weeks of the semester and are open to any male student at Texas A&M.;
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