On Wednesday, May 16, the middle school hosted the high school choir, the seventh and eighth grade combined choir, and the fifth and sixth grade combined choir in the annual spring chorus concert. The concert provides a way for students to experience what a performance is like, while simultaneously showcasing the amount of work and effort they put into every song.

The choir was conducted by Ms. Jennifer Newman, choir director for grades five through 12, and was accompanied by pianist Cindy Cotherman.

The high school choir kicked off the performance, singing “Seize the Day” from “Newsies: The Musical” arranged by Roger Emerson. This was a combined piece with the seventh and eighth-grade choirs. The song was followed by “The Blessing” by Celtic Woman, words and music by Brendan Graham and David Downes and arranged by John Purifoy. Next was “Make Them Hear You” from “Ragtime: The Musical,” arranged by Jeff Funk and featuring solos by Nora Powers (10) and Mia Roncevich (12).

“For weeks, we practiced the solos in class, where you could try out for which ones you wanted,” Roncevich said. “I tried out for most of them and practiced them for weeks. The solo I got specifically, I did not originally try out for, but I really loved [‘Make Them Hear You’]. I thought it sounded beautiful and was very meaningful. I was super nervous at first, because I really didn’t have a whole lot of practice, but when I went up to sing it at the concert, I think it went really well and that I did well.”

Following the high school’s performance was the seventh and eighth grade chorus, singing “Hope is the Thing with Feathers,” arranged by Penny Rodriguez. They also sang “Pure Imagination,” from the musical “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” arranged by Jay Althouse.

There was a “Women’s Chorus” portion of the concert, which featured a combined high school and seventh and eighth grade choir made entirely of female students. They sang “For Good,” from the musical “Wicked,” with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and arranged by Mac Huff. This was to honor the seniors who made up the choir. The song featured high school soloists Tori Loschinskey (10) and Phoebe Smith (12).

Next was another combined piece, but the males in the choirs were included. They sang “Ain’t No Mountain,” the 1967 pop hit by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terell. The words and music were by Mickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, and it was arranged by Roger Emerson. It featured the middle school soloists Issac Mattern (7) and high school soloist Caroline Bender (10).

The fifth and sixth grade chorus got their time to shine at the end of the concert, where they performed several songs, most notably “Froggie Went a Courtin’,” arranged by Audrey Snyder, and the song they perform out of tradition, “Build Me Up Buttercup,” arranged by Jeff Funk. This song has become beloved among choir members.

The choirs all show promise for the coming years, and students can look forward to making music for years to come.