Wyant Morton, professor of music and conductor of the California Lutheran University Choral Ensembles conducted his last Spring Concert with the California Lutheran University Choir at Samuelson Chapel last weekend, closing out 33 years at the helm.
“[It’s] bittersweet, you know? I’ve been with these students, a lot of them for four years, and through this whole process for many years,” Morton said. “It’s been a joy for me to be the director of the choir for my 33 years here and I’ll definitely miss making music with my students.”
Morton joined Cal Lutheran in 1992 as director of choral activities and professor of music and served as Music Department chair from 1998 to 2013 and 2018 to 2019. In addition to directing the Cal Lutheran University Choir, Morton also directs the university’s Cielo Treble Choir and the Areté Vocal Ensemble. Morton also serves as the choir director at Ascension Lutheran Church in Thousand Oaks, California.
Morton said the Spring Concert is “always a big concert,” in which the Cal Lutheran Choir showcases all the music it has performed throughout the academic year. Sunday’s concert included a wide selection of choral music, ranging from Franz Joseph Haydn’s “Missa Brevis,” which the choir recently performed at Carnegie Hall, to Brandi Carlile’s “Crowded Table,” arranged by Andrea Ramsey.
The concert also featured performances from Cal Lutheran’s Cielo Treble Choir and the Kingsmen and Regals Quartets.
Morton said he is not beholden to a specific idea of what his choir should sound like, and embraces variety in all aspects, especially since the Cal Lutheran Choir welcomes new singers every year.
“I think there are a lot of choral directors out there who have this preconceived sound in their head of what their choirs should sound like, and I don’t think that way,” Morton said. “I am always excited to see who the people are and to hear what our sound is going to be. Of course, we have to mold things a little bit, but I want this to sound like these people. So, it’s always a little different. And that’s one of the joys of it, too, figuring out what that’s going to be.”
Morton said he loves to choose a wide variety of music for the choir, including both sacred and secular music. Morton said he also likes to include music of different countries, languages, and composers, as well as selecting a mix of both acapella and accompanied pieces.
“I think the thing that I love the most is just trying to be very eclectic,” Morton said. “There are a lot of people who come to our concerts that aren’t parents, that aren’t coming to see a specific person. They’ve just come to see the CLU Choir year after year, and that’s I think, become kind of one of the hallmarks of the choir, is just very interesting, eclectic music making.”
Junior and Choir Co-President Soren Ficklin said Morton’s retirement marks the end of an extraordinary legacy in Cal Lutheran’s history, albeit “bittersweet.”
“Dr. Morton’s legacy at Cal Lutheran really speaks for itself. It’s a history of doing really amazing music and pushing boundaries and reinforcing the importance of the choral tradition here at Cal Lutheran,” Ficklin said. “It’s that combination of being sad about the departure but being excited for new possibilities.”
Ficklin said there’s an adjustment period when new members join the choir at the beginning of each academic year, and said those changes can be “temporarily destabilizing.” While the change will be an adjustment, Ficklin also said the choir sees it as “an exciting opportunity to welcome in a new choral director.”
“You kind of hear these new sounds, you hear new voices, and it takes a little bit of time for your ear to adjust to that,” Ficklin said. “But once you’ve been singing together, making music together, eventually that blend comes back and that kind of communication that exists unspoken, between those musicians and the conductor, that all start to really solidify usually when our homecoming concert happens.”
Morton said his job as a conductor is inherently collaborative and has strived to create an atmosphere where sharing ideas, suggestions and asking questions is not only common but encouraged.
“I learn from them [students] every day,” Morton said. “When you have 40 or 50 people, it gets harder to do that without somebody leading and guiding, but in a collaborative way. It’s not a ‘I’m in charge,’ kind of thing.”
Morton said he also takes great care to rehearse the choir in an effective way, ensuring his students are neither under-rehearsed nor over-rehearsed.
“That takes some experience and trial and error over the years to learn how to do that. If I have six weeks until the homecoming concert from the start of school, I have to be really careful of what I do, what music I choose,” Morton said. “I think what I’ve learned the most is just how to guide our day-to-day work so that when we’re in front of the public for a performance, we’re at our best, and we peak at the right time.”
Courtney Johnson, senior and choir co-president said Morton’s years of experience and disciplined rehearsal schedule have helped her feel prepared for performances.
“He’s been here for 33 years, so he knows his stuff,” Johnson said. “A lot of the energy, if you will, does really depend on him.”
With a four-day-a-week rehearsal schedule, Johnson said Morton’s dedication to organization has helped keep her and her fellow singers on track.
“He always has some sort of statistic about, like, ‘Oh, we have 22 hours left of rehearsals until we have our next concert,’” Johnson said. “For my brain, for being a very type A person, that has always been very relatable.”
Johnson also said Morton has given her a greater appreciation for all different kinds of music, something she believes will stay with her after graduation.
“I’m just very grateful for Dr. Morton and everyone else in the choir for giving all of us and me a great four years,” Johnson said. “My college experience wouldn’t have been the same without it.”
