By Lily Angel
On December 1, the visual and performing arts department hosted the annual Choir Concert at Highlander Hall. This year’s theme was “A Message of Light and Love.” The choirs worked to spread this message through music and showcase the students’ hard work and talent.
The concert was nearly sold out and audiences found it to be a success filled with wonderful performances.
“The concert featured 23 songs ranging from traditional choral-style music to popular music.
There were solo acts, a show choir, and traditional choirs singing music from many different cultures and world regions.
The music came from different time periods, and some of the compositions are from more than 100 years ago. Students performed songs in Latin, Portuguese, Spanish, Vendu, Hebrew, and English,” choir director Dr. Desiree Balfour said.
The concert began with an ensemble from all of the choirs. They began their journey of spreading “A Message of Light and Love” with the song “Hymn to the Eternal Flame.” They then concluded their ensemble time with “Nda Wana,” a traditional South African song.
There were several soloists as well including seniors Aryanna Ileto, Isabella Cruz, freshman Natalia Irby, and sophomores Ethan Benitez and Daisy Trujillo
Following the solo acts, the winter concert featured a cappella groups Happily Ever After and Once Upon a Time. Happily Ever After performed a medley of “I Will Survive” and “Survivor.” The piece was directed by senior Sabrina Yu. Once Upon a Time performed a mashup of “Rumor Has It” and “Someone Like You.” They were directed by junior Mia Deukmedjian. Both a cappella groups brought life to their songs and gave well-rehearsed performances.
The Concert Choir class also sang songs in different languages such as “Yigdal,” which was performed to further spread the message of unity and peace. The song is entirely in Hebrew and showcases the students’ skills and talents to be able to sing in a language with which many of them are not familiar.
The songs sung in different languages are taught in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), allowing students to sing as accurately as possible in a different language.
The Honors Choir sang their performance of “Zion’s Walls.” Their performance used the collaboration of voices to have an uplifting and light feel. The Honors Choir concluded their performance with a Colombian folk song “Prende la Vela.”
The newest addition to the choir department is the Chamber Singers, the advanced choir. They made their debut by singing the Latin song “Laudate,” the Brazilian-Portuguese song “Muié Rendêra,” and “Seal Lullaby” with piano accompanist junior Jeremy Alexander. The Brazilian-Portuguese song “Muié Rendêra” is a song of flirting, showing the message of love.
“I enjoyed seeing the audience’s faces when we performed,” Cruz said. “I just loved seeing their reactions to each song and getting to enjoy each performance.”
The concert ended with a performance from the G-Notes with the song “The Letter,” which is about a long distance relationship. The staging, costumes, and choreography of the students, along with the musical elements, ended the performance on a high note.
“I like the bonding experience because we are all running around and practicing together,” junior Sarah Catalan said.
In preparation for the concert, all of the various choirs practiced every day in class and in after school rehearsals. All of Dr. Balfour’s choir students performed and helped with the preparation of the concert.
“Students play all of the accompaniment including piano and percussion. They make all of the art such as props, concert programs, and promotional materials. Student techs assist the professional lighting and sound engineers. The students really do an amazing job at taking on all sorts of leadership roles and working as a collaborative team,” Dr. Balfour said.
In preparation for the concert, all of the various choirs practiced every day in class and in after school rehearsals. All of Dr. Balfour’s choir students performed and helped with the preparation of the concert.
“Students play all of the accompaniment including piano and percussion. They make all of the art such as props, concert programs, and promotional materials. Student techs assist the professional lighting and sound engineers. The students really do an amazing job at taking on all sorts of leadership roles and working as a collaborative team,” Dr. Balfour said.
The Plaid Press 