The chorus winter concert kicks off the month of celebrations with a fantastic concert. Chamber Choir was the opening act of the concert.
Something new chorus tried this year was having a student conduct a piece. Senior Kelli Norkas was given the opportunity to conduct Chamber Choir’s piece “The Prayer,” a rather slow and moving piece that Norkas picked out herself. Norkas executed the piece quite well, especially because since this was her first time conducting in public.
“It was super intimidating at first, but once I got the hang out of conducting it was a lot of fun to do,” said Norkas.
Following Chamber, the Una Voice department takes the stage. Although this is a winter concert, chorus decided to branch out and play non-holiday songs to spice things up. One piece they performed was “Fix You” by Coldplay. It wasn’t just the song, though. In between songs, several students shared their experiences of struggling with mental health issues such as self-harm.
Up next was High Profile, the section made up entirely of female students that have already taken chorus for more than one year. This department had the most individual acts-whether a solo or a small group, simply anything that wasn’t apart of the main department acts. With three solos and a duet, High Profile had plenty of acts to give to the crowd.
“I really loved the song, we’ve never done a jazz number before in High Profile and I really wanted to be a part of it,” said junior Sophia Brown, who performed a solo in High Profile’s song “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”
Having the most section-wide pieces, Entourage follows. The most selective department that requires an audition. Entourage performed familiar pieces like “Hallelujah,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” “All I Want for Christmas is You,” and an arrangement made by chorus teacher Corey Poole himself of “Carol of the Bells.” Entourage even performed the amusing non-sequitur song “Livin’ on a Prayer.”
To close the concert on a memorable note, every member of the program gathered on stage to perform “Silent Night.” There was even encouragement for audience participation. In fact, it was almost required. Making sure everyone was on board, the concert program included the lyrics to the song. A perfect way to close November and make way for December, the chorus winter concert set the mood for the holiday season in a way that no one is sure to forget.
Aliya Leary // Staff Writer
