By Dave Walsh
Staff writer

Saturday night the Purdue Musical Organizations joined the Lafayette Rotary Club in a benefit concert for the Long Center. The show featured six PMO groups: the University Choir, the Purduettes, the Purdue Bell Choir, the PMO Kids Choir, the PMO Express and the Purdue Varsity Glee Club. The concert also included a performance from PMO's spring concert, "Schoolhouse Rock," which has performed at more than a dozen elementary schools.

"I hope the audience gained a sense of community and saw the singers' energy and passion, and I hope they had a good time as well," assistant PMO director Ly Tartell said.

The show's director, Brian Breed, started the show by introducing the PMO singers into the Long Center's aisles where they sang "America the Beautiful" with the audience. Next, they sang a rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" before the University Choir took the stage.

The University Choir, under the direction of Tartell, started the show singing three songs, including a Swahili piece.

The Purduettes were next to take the stage, followed by the Purdue Bell Choir. The Bell Choir, directed by assistant director of PMO, Jonathan Swoboda, played an eclectic mix of songs, including "Take Five" and the theme from "Austin Powers."

"The Bell Choir worked really hard and I think we really rocked the house," said Mandy Rebich, a member of the Bell Choir and a freshman in the School of Liberal Arts

The show continued with PMO's "Schoolhouse Rock," which combines members from different PMO choirs. They combined music with skits to cover topics such as social studies and interjections.

"These kids have lots and lots of talent. I really enjoyed the show," said Sam Johnson, a member of the audience.

The show then took a break from the PMO choirs for a sing-a-long with the audience. Directed by Breed, the audience sang a few songs, including "The Happy Wanderer" and "By the Light of the Silvery Moon."

The show then continued with the PMO Kids Choir, a choir made up of elementary school children. They sang "Love Will Save the Day."

Next to perform was the PMO Express, directed by Tartell. Some of the songs in their performance were a jazzy piece named "Birdland" and a slower paced song, "I'll Be Seeing You."

The last group to take the stage was the Purdue Varsity Glee Club, directed by Breed.

"I think the show was awesome; it was for a great cause in a great place," said Nick Hagemeier, a junior in the School of Science and a member of the Purdue Varsity Glee Club.

The show didn't end after the Varsity Glee Club's performance, though. Instead, all of the groups were brought on stage to perform together.

They sang "This Land is Your Land" and "It Starts Right Here," a piece commissioned by Gary Fry. Fry has crafted pieces for both the Chicago Sympathy Orchestra and large companies such as McDonald's and Sears.

"I hope that the audience got an understanding of what we do and that we are just as committed to the community as we are to entertainment," said Swoboda.

The PMO and Lafayette Rotary Club's concert did more than entertain the audience, though. It also helped raise money for the renovation of the Long Center.

"I hope there were people who came to the Long Center for the first time tonight and got to see what a worthwhile project this is," assistant director Jae Israel-Kellog said.