E. Ill. Greek Sing: largest choral comp. in midwest?

[hoosier]

Singing nuns, songs of angels start Greek Week

BY ROB STROUD

Staff Writer

CHARLESTON - The heavenly voices of nuns and angels competed with the sounds of sultry sirens, country crooners and singer-songwriters on Sunday.

The voices and sounds belonged to some of the 15 fraternities and sororities that participated in the 51st-annual Greek Sing competition at Eastern Illinois University's Lantz Arena.

Greek Sing is billed as the largest amateur choral competition in the Midwest. It is held every year to unite the Greek community at the start of several days-worth of athletic and scholastic games known as Greek Week.

Alpha Sigma Alpha demonstrated its sisterhood at the competition by dressing as nuns. They started the performance, with white-gloved hands reverently clasped, by singing "Hail Holy Queen."

As the beat picked up, Alpha Sigma Alpha sang a version of "I Will Follow Him" from the movie "Sister Act." They gave up their nun-like decorum as they swayed back and forth to their lively closing song, "Shout."

The women of Alpha Sigma Tau sang a trio of angel-themed songs as a tribute to the nation's recovery from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Alpha Sigma Tau's singers, who each wore a T-shirt with angel wings on the back, performed "If God Will Send His Angels" and "Angels Among Us." They accompanied their concluding song, "Angel," with sign language.

Crimson tops worn by the women of Alpha Phi signaled that they were trying to turn up the temperature in Lantz Arena. They sang "The Heat is On," "Too Hot to Samba," "Heatwave" and "Steam Heat," which ended with the sound of water sizzling.

Delta Sigma Phi introduced country to the afternoon's proceedings by singing Tim McGraw's "How Cool Is That" and Garth Brooks' "Friends in Low Places."

The fraternity's rendition of "Friends in Low Places" had many of the more than 1,000 audience members clapping in accompaniment.

Fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon performed a medley of songs by James Taylor, including "Fire and Rain" and "Your Smiling Face." The singers had audience members roaring with laughter when they punctuated the sedate "How Sweet It Is" with a pelvic thrust.

Other organizations that competed in the event included Sigma Sigma Sigma, Sigma Kappa, Alpha Gamma Delta, Lambda Chi Alpha, Delta Chi, Kappa Delta, Delta Zeta, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Pi and Delta Tau Delta.