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When Choir Sings, Many Hearts Beat As One
April 15, 2015
Michael Ushino’s third period concert choir class, an all women’s ensemble, participates in vocal warm-ups before rehearsing for their Pops Concert on June 1. The Pops Concert will feature a live band to accompany the choirs and the soloists.
The Program
San Juan Hills’ Choral Arts Department is devoted to the development of musicality and enhancing passion for singing. The Vocal Arts Program directs singers to establish healthy vocal technique, musicianship skills such as sight-reading and music theory, and both solo and choral ensemble singing technique. Students are given the opportunity to audition, perform on stage at four concerts, and become familiar with both classical and modern compositions.
The Choirs
Concert Choir
Concert choir is a women’s ensemble. There is no audition necessary. This class is geared toward all students on campus with a desire to sing. Concert choir allows singers to develop their treble voice and receive performance opportunities in a wide variety of musical genres. This class can be taken for 5 visual and performing arts credits.
Chambers/Madrigals
The Chambers singers are the most advanced ensemble in the Choral Department. This is an audition-only choir in which students gain a more advanced experience in solo singing, artistic interpretation, music theory, and performance. This choir is for students who have a strong passion in singing and musicianship. Chambers singers learn a wide range of music styles in order to support the development of each student. Auditions for Madrigals include singing a solo excerpt, a test of vocal range, and sight-reading. This class can be taken for 5 visual and performing arts credits.
“
Just audition. Just give it a shot.
— William Van Orsdel
The Story
Under the new choral director Michael Ushino, the Choral Arts Department has sang their way to new heights 2014-2015 school year. The dedicated groups of Madrigals and Concert Choir singers have touched the hearts of their audiences at their Fall, Winter, and Spring concerts.
Whether students sing in the concert choir or with the auditioned chamber singers, students are exposed to a repertoire that varies in time period, genre, and language. In both choirs, students learn valuable skills to establish healthy vocal technique and musicianship skills.
“I have gotten a lot better at reading music. I played piano for a while but I stopped. Now that I am in choir, I have learned more about the piano and reading notes through sight reading” said McKell Varner (9).
The Choral Arts Program is a very tight-knit group of students who work together in order to sing beautiful pieces of music. It is a tradition for choir students to join together for dinner after every concert and the singers look forward to bonding with their peers outside of school at organized events such as laser tag and bowling.
“When I moved here at the start of junior year, my choir was the first group of friends I had. It really set me up and started me off comfortably and happily with people I could talk to at school” said William Van Orsdel (12). “Just audition. Just give it a shot. You may not think you can sing well but Mr. Ushino will show you how to unlock the potential that you may not have known you had.”
The choir program thinks of themselves as a family and welcomes any student who wants to learn more about the vocal arts.
“Choir is perfect for anybody who likes to sing and likes music. A lot of people think that choir is meant for people who have been in choir their whole lives, but really if you have any desire to sing, Mr. Ushino can work with you from there. I just think it is such a fun environment and everyone should be a part of it.”