Valentina Baldini, Arts and Tech Editor
@vbaldinicourant
Featured image by Ryan Boulanger
On November 7 at 7:00 pm, the NCHS Concert Choir and NCHS Madrigal Ensemble sang at the Meet the Choirs Fall Vocal Festival. The concert featured festive, high energy singing and showcased the students musical talents.
For more information on the NCHS Choir groups and their future performances, click here.
The festival was a sing-a-long and each choir chose their own songs. “Each group decided on their own piece to perform based on their work in the first two months of the school year,” choir teacher Sarah Gleason said. “We chose to close the concert with everyone singing “Thank You for the Music” originally performed by ABBA because it highlights the powerful presence music has in our lives.”
Many students also took a more festive approach to their song choices, because of the upcoming holiday season. “For this year’s festival we wanted to do something related to the holidays, so we chose a Christmas song for our performance,” choir and Madrigal Ensemble member Morgan Pitts said. “We thought it would be perfect for the holiday season ahead of us, because it allows a moment of gratefulness for our families who came to see us perform.”
Before their performance, the choir underwent many hours of rehearsals to perfect their songs. “The Concert Choir rehearses during period five and our classes are filled with energy, connection and vocal technique work as individuals perform as an ensemble,” Ms. Gleason said. “Each rehearsal includes working together in sectionals and singing as a group.”
The Madrigals are a choir group dedicated to performing outside of school, with a strong passion for the arts. “The Madrigal Ensemble is an auditioned group of sophomore, junior and senior year choir members, who rehearse on Monday evenings to expand their knowledge and independence for singing higher level choral repertoire,” Ms. Gleason said.
The Madrigals prepared and rehearsed extra songs for the festival. “We start by warming up, then Ms. Gleason rehearses us through the songs and answers any questions we might have,” Morgan said. “We try to work as a team and give each other constructive feedback when we need it to ensure a successful performance.”
Participating in the festival is the perfect opportunity to help students grow as musicians and artists. “Each time a singer performs, we are sharing our learning with someone else,” Ms. Gleason said. “It enables us to take our study of vocal technique, music literacy and ensemble performance to create a musical experience for the audience.”
The festival is aimed at evoking feelings in the audience through the musical performance of the choir. “We hope to promote a sense of community and spread our joy and musical talent with everyone at the festival,” Morgan said. “We want to be able to share our passion for music with the audience.”
Students and families who attended the festival were able to connect with the amazing experience of music through the choir’s performances. “ Families and friends came to our performance and listened to our showcase of festive songs and musical talent,” Morgan said. “They witnessed a professional performance with really well thought-out song choices, and high energy singing from our choirs.”
