Fall Spotlight 2023

How did you get involved with music and singing?

I got involved through a very renowned woman named Nancy Robertson. I did Can’t Stop Singing, which is a music camp they used to do during the summer here. One thing led to another and the next thing I know I was in Boychoir and then choir at school and I just kept joining more and more choir events, musicals, plays, and now I’m in everything.

How long have you been in choir?

This is my 8th year in choir.

What groups have you been in?

Total Sound / Madrigals, Southern Synergy(AOI), Men’s Quartet

What is the most recent event you have participated in?

Southern Invitational Choral Conference at USM where I had a voice lesson with Dr. Yarrington.

What do you love most about singing/music?

It sounds basic, but I love the way that it makes you feel, especially when you find the type of music that fills your needs and desires.

What type of music fills your needs and desires?

I just love those types of chords that are crunchy and very satisfying.

What has been your favorite piece of music that you’ve sung?

Solo - Wondering from the musical Bridges of Madison County

Group - Grace Before Sleep is a beautiful piece and we sang it with a couple of different groups

What has surprised you the most about singing in a choir?

How talented everyone is when you finally get to hear them individually because everyone is so talented in their own way, but you never get to hear it because you’re so used to singing with them as a group and with other people, you don’t ever get to hear them sing seriously on their own with their own personal technique.

How has singing affected your life and school career?

From an early age I was very inspired by music. It caught my attention very easily. One thing led to another and now it’s what I’ve decided I want to go into as a career. I’m not sure exactly what, but it got a grip on me that early in life that I’ve known that that’s what I want to do since elementary school. It’s just so powerful.

Do you have any advice for people who want to join choir or who are new to choir this year?

If you haven’t joined choir, just try it. It’s for everyone and anyone. It can be your safe space. If it’s not what you like and you find yourself not enjoying music, then that’s okay too, as long as your appreciation is there. But for other people, it might be what they find is the missing piece of the puzzle that they didn’t know they needed. If it’s something that you like, but you feel like it’s a lot of work, just keep going because in the end, it’s worth it. As hard as it might be, it’s very rewarding in the end.

How did you get involved with music and singing?

I began singing in elementary school and have been singing ever since. My father is also very musical. He got his bachelor’s in vocal performance, so, that’s mainly who I get it from. I really like it.

How long have you been in choir?

The first choir I was in was in Bovina in elementary school.

What groups have you been in?

Women’s choir and Southern Synergy in 7th and 8th grade with Mrs. Hoyt. In 9th grade I didn’t get to do anything because of COVID, which was sad, and in 10th grade I joined Total Sound / Madrigals at WCHS.

What’s the most recent event you participated in?

SICC where I participated in a vocal master class and had 2 voice lessons; one with Dr. Yarrington and another with Dr. Johnson.

What do you love most about singing and music?

That it makes me feel good, that it makes me happy. It’s a way to express things that I’m not able to express very well when talking to people. It’s probably one of the most fun ways to express art. The history of it is also really cool. I like all the different things you can do with your voice and learning about all of them; how it works, how you can produce it and tell a story with your voice. That’s kind of what I’ve done all my life, used my voice to sing. 

What has been your favorite piece of music that you’ve sung?

I think my favorite song was “My Grand Plan” as Annabeth in Percy Jackson at VTG. That was my first lead ever. Before that I had always been cast in the ensemble and ensemble has always been really special to me. When it comes to solo/lead, that’s it because it was my first time ever getting a chance to express everything that I can do. I think that also was the first time I had to deep-dive into a song and connect it to my life. Every part of it was something that I could relate to in my life, especially AnnaBeth in general where she works hard to prove something to her mom, which is how I kind of feel with my family. Ensemble work in Spongebob the musical was the first time I did a lot of different styles. I had to do hip hop, tap, basic musical theatre things and a bunch of different roles. My favorite was tap because I had never done tap and I still have my tap shoes. For a group piece it would be Grace Before Sleep. That was in my first year in madrigals because it’s a really pretty song and it’s super quiet. The soprano 2 part is the most difficult part and I loved singing that part.

What has surprised you the most about singing in a choir?

I think the most surprising part is the sound you can make with all of the different voices; bass, tenor, alto, soprano; especially when there’s an 8-part split and all of the cool things you can do. It’s surprising how pretty it can be when you work hard. And I also think this environment is the best I’ve ever been in because I felt the most welcomed; with a choir, with people who also share a love of music because that’s a way people can bond and that’s how I grow in my life.

How has singing affected your life and school career?

It made me a lot busier when I got to high school. At first it was just something I didn’t know if I would take seriously, I was just kind of there because I knew I liked singing every day and it was just fun. Eventually around 9th or 10th grade I started considering whether I wanted to major in this. It has made me feel a lot better; I used to have a really hard time. I think this just helped me escape and cope in a healthy way rather than a negative way with my life and my mental health. When it comes to school, it’s taken up a majority of my time, but that’s not a bad thing because I like it; it’s not boring. When you enjoy it it’s more fun.

Do you have any advice for people who want to join choir or who are new to choir this year?

To try really hard and when you start working really hard you’ll realize how much more fun it is because it may not be fun right now because of how much work it may be, but once you get to perform and show other people, it almost becomes like an addiction where you just want more and more attention, and getting the crowd excited. You grow more and more interested in putting on a show, but you have to work hard first in order to earn that. Once you’ve finally done it for your first time and you gain that applause, you’ll want to keep doing it. Take in every moment you can, work really hard, so that when you do that small bit of performance, it was worth it.