Friends and family alike take their seats in the auditorium , excitedly waiting to be immersed into the winter wonderland of hums and belts that the chorus of HHS students was sure to create. Suddenly, each choir member filed into the auditorium surrounding the audience. Mrs. Ashley Mathews, Director of Choral Activities took the center of the room and conducted the chorus through their first performance of the night –“Joy to the World.” The voices of each choir member blended together seamlessly and effortlessly with each soprano, alto, and base singing their tune in perfect harmony. It became clear to me , at that point, that this was not your average concert where choir members stand chin up, chest out, shoulders back on risers and squawk poorly tuned notes at an audience solely composed of ‘proud’ parents. This was a show. On Thursday, December 12th, starting at 7 pm HHS Choir held their first production of the year!
The HHS Choir program is composed of a myriad of chorales based on grade, skill, and voice level who each had their own portion of the concert. Following the overture of “Joy to the World,” Concert Choir took the stage to perform “A Solfege Christmas.” The Concert Choir is HHS’ entry level class where students master the art of singing and vocal music in preparation to join the more skilled specialized choruses. Even singing in Spanish, they went on to perform “Dors, Dors, Petite Bebe,” and “Yo Vivo Contado! (I Live to Sing).” Then their competitive show choir team- “Legacy” got together to sing “Eight Days of Lights,” and their hilariously creative rendition of the traditional “Twelve Days Of Christmas” combined with the Dad rock classic, “Africa” by Toto called “Twelve Day Of Christmas Confusion.” This was my favorite part—the audience roared with laughter as the chorus repeated “partridge in a big pear tree…” to the melody of the outro of Toto’s classic.
Then Treble Chorale–advanced soprano and alto singers– took the stage and sang “Northern Lights,” and “Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening.” Their ethereal tone took a turn, though, on their final song, “Mary Sat-a-Rockin“ whose mood was strong and passionate. Mixed Chorale is where the soloists really got to shine. Singers entered through the auditorium; soloists assembled in a circle toward the back as they vocalized melodies from “Gabriel’s Message” Remaining carolers assembled at the stairs of the stage. Junior Eva Quin’s solos in “Gabriel’s Message” and across the board were mesmerizing, her breath control was unmatched. They finished up their section of the program with “Deck the Halls,” and “Let the River Run,” where they invited an actual bongo player on stage to recreate that rhythmic tribal feel to the song. Mrs. Mathews’ creative concepts as far as staging were executed again as the Symphonic Choir assembled at the stairs of the stage to sing “O, Come All Ye Faithful.” finishing up the productions for the night!
“I spend a lot of time getting to “know” the music,” said Mathews. She added “Having Mixed Chorale start in the lobby adds a more ethereal effect with the cluster chords in the beginning.” It was evident to me, through the intentional staging and tone portrayal, that Mrs. Mathews had a thorough, thoughtful vision for this concert. It was executed beautifully, congratulations to the entire Choir program!
