By Juliana Johnson

Last week, the Honors Choir and Chamber Singers performed an oratorio entitled “un(American)” in partnership with the Los Angeles Master Chorale. 

GHC’s student choirs were chosen out of over 150 high schools within Los Angeles County to partner with the LA Master Chorale on their yearly Oratorio Project, a part of their Voices Within program. The program provides a selected high school the opportunity to create an original oratorio, a large-scale narrative musical work for an orchestra and choir, based on a designated topic. 

This year, GHC students were tasked with crafting their piece based on The Red Scare and events surrounding the House Unamerican Activities Committee (HUAC). The piece contained eight separate movements, each written by a group of GHC students, that told the story of the conflict from its origins to the lasting impacts we still see today. 

“When I first heard the topic of our oratorio was the Red Scare, I thought it was strange,” senior and Chamber Choir singer Jamie Coe said. But over time, through our music and the way we were able to characterize the people, it slowly became a really important story to tell.”

Preparation for the performance began last semester, and students and Master Chorale teaching artists have been hard at work perfecting it ever since. Groups, which consisted of three to five choir students each, were tasked with writing the lyrics and melodies to one of the oratorio’s eight separate movements. By the end of the fall semester, chorale students then sent their recorded parts to a composer with the LA Master Chorale and received a fully arranged oratorio less than a month later. 

“When I got back the completed arrangement of the oratorio, I remember feeling motivated and inspired to really put my all into this project and bring these great stories and melodies to life,” junior and Honor Choir singer Orion Ortiz said. 

Once the piece was arranged, students then had the opportunity to try out for solo roles in the performance, including Senator Joseph McCarthy and American screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. The solos were eventually decided by the LA Master Chorale teaching artists. 

The Chamber Singers and Honors Choir spent every Monday during their class period writing the oratorio and began rehearsing the completed product in January. Several rehearsals were added leading up to the performance to incorporate an octet of LA Master Chorale singers, a GHC student orchestra, and a multi-media presentation. Students practiced and performed with members of the LA Master Chorale throughout the process. 

“Working with the Master Chorale and hearing the way they sang and their overall vocal technique helped with my musicianship,” Coe said.

All of the students’ hard work finally paid off when they performed for classes during the day and for family and the community in the evening on February 21.

“It was amazing how the singing painted a picture of the struggles within communism and wanting equality in America,” junior Isabella Lopez said. “It showed the skill of the choir and how they were able to collaborate to create such a special moment.” The hard work students and the LA Master Chorale put into their performance was visible to all, and in the end, they were able to put on an incredible performance.

“Honors Choir and Chamber Singers brought their very best to the stage and I was very nearly brought to tears with the passion and commitment they conveyed to our wonderful audiences,” Choir teacher Dr. Desiree Balfour said. “The student-composed melodies are still swirling around in my head! The LA Master Chorale teaching artists and professional singers not only helped to inspire our students but also set a standard that has elevated the entire choir department.”