On May 14, the middle school auditorium was filled with the sounds of music as the 9-12, 7-8 and 5-6 grade choruses took the stage in their annual spring concert. From 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Jennifer Newman, choir director, led the various groups in song accompanied by Cindy Cotherman on the piano.
Students began practicing for the concert soon after performing their winter concert, and songs were picked according to each member’s strengths. Choru members need to be able to sing their parts strongly and confidently due to the small size of the chorus.
Much of the choir’s repertoire consists of harmonizing between each vocal group. Though the chorus is small in size, they still manage to utilize multiple-part harmonies with their alto, soprano, treble and baritone sections.
“I think my favorite part of preparing for a concert is watching how the individual students develop and how we grow in our musicianship as a whole in chorus,” Newman said. “We are all there for one common goal, which is to be the best ensemble we can, representing our school with pride and enthusiasm and excellence. In order to achieve this goal, we must work together and learn to understand each other to get the best result.”
The 5-6 grade chorus took the stage first and sang three songs for their performance: “Solfege Mambo” by Cristi Cary Miller, “Ubi Caritas” by Sally K. Albrecht and “Build Me Up Buttercup” by The Foundations. The 7-8 grade chorus followed, singing “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars, “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen, “Popular” from Wicked and “Stand by Me” by Ben E. King.
The 9-12 grade chorus took the stage after and sang “How Can I Keep From Singing” by Enya, “Cantate Domino” by Sally K. Albrecht, “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell and “Gonna Sing” arranged by Andy Beck. Charlotte Rywolt (9) performed a solo in “Both Sides Now,” and unique instruments were utilized in “Gonna Sing.”
The songs that were chosen for the concert leaned more toward a cultural side. “Cantate Domino” is a Latin piece, “Gonna Sing” is an African-American spiritual song, and “How Can I Keep From Singing” and “Both Sides Now” are folk-style songs.
“I really like ‘Cantate Domino’ and ‘Both Sides Now’ for this concert,” Rywolt said. “The Latin in ‘Cantate Domino’ was fun and fairly easy to learn and in ‘Both Sides Now’ the low harmonies and my solo were a lot of fun to learn and practice.”
Seniors Cholayna Johns (12) and Alana Krepps (12) were recognized during the concert for their performance over the years. As it was the last concert they’d get to experience, it was a meaningful time that they would all want to cherish, and recognition was delivered where it was due.
To finish the concert, all of the choirs combined and sang one final song as a group. The song was “Defying Gravity” from Wicked, with soloists Phoebe Smith (11) and Juliet Pivik. The final performance of the 24-25 year ended with the trending riff that many will remember.