The spring choir concert of this quarter was accompanied by Women’s Choir, Men’s Choir, Bella Voce and Troubadours. The Women’s Choir was the first to perform while all wearing floor length, black dresses. They sang three songs to kickstart the night which consisted of “Riversong” by Arr. Beck, “Sisi Sote (All of Us)” by Arr. Beck, and “Pure Imagination” by Arr. J. Althouse. “Sisi Sote (All of Us)” is a song in Swahili which invites the audience to sing, dance, and celebrate. The Women’s Choir had to practice long and hard to learn the lyrics to a song in a different language, as well as display the energy the song conveys. The choir concert took place on Mar. 1, the beginning of Women’s History Month, and having the Women’s Choir perform first was an amazing tribute to every woman watching. 

The Men’s Choir followed up the amazing performance done by the Women’s Choir, in which they performed “Gone, Gone, Gone” by Arr. Beck, “Lo Yissa Goy (Hebrew Folk Song)” by Arr. Beck, “Sixteen Tons” by Arr. J. Funk, and “My Girl” by Arr. R. Emerson. The Men’s Choir seemed to serenade the audience when performing “Gone, Gone, Gone,” which contained a solo from Mikey Salazar (23) and Kade Gentry (24). Salazar said, “This was the first time I have ever done a solo, but as the concert went on, all my nerves went away and it ended up being really fun.” Ethan Florez (22) was also granted a solo in “Sixteen Tons” and he got the chance to show off his baritone voice. Florez said, “It’s about coal miners and you just have to get into the mood; that was the whole point of the song. Originally I auditioned for “My Girl,” which was our last choreographed piece, but I ended up getting the solo in “Sixteen Tons” and I really liked it in the end.” Women’s Choir closed the first half of the show with “Dynamite” by Arr. R. Emerson, containing solos from Amerie Valenciano (24), and McKenzie Geib (25). 

After the ten minute intermission, Bella Voce took the stage. There are many similarities between Women’s Choir and Bella Voce, except auditions need to be held to be accepted into Bella Voce. Once on stage, their bright red dresses caught the eye of the audience, and with their attention, they began performing “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” by M. Huff, followed by “Je Le Vous Dirai! (Do I Dare Say It)” by J. Leavitt, and “Lineage” by A. Ramesy. Teagan Joseph (23) and Addie Burke (22) had solos in “Wishing You Were Somehow Still Here,” which took the audience’s breath away. Similar to Bella Voce, Troubadours is an audition-only choir which is made up of four boys and eight girls. The Troubadours performed “Hear That Fiddle Play” by J. Purifoy, “Can’t Help Falling In Love” by E. Lojeski, “The Last Words of David” by R. Thompson, and “Singin’ In The Rain” by M. Hayes. The women in the choir wore silver, sparkly dresses while the men wore all black. As the Troubadours took to the stage, they began with a playful dance, skipping around in a circle with their chosen partner. Bella Voce performed “It’s The Hard-Knock Life” before the finale, in which all choirs joined the stage and sang “Wade In The Water” by R. Elaine Schram. “Wade In The Water” was originally a phrase used by Harriet Tubman to tell escaping slaves to jump into the water in order to throw off their scent being tracked by dogs slave catchers. The participants of this year’s choir concert were thrilled with the outcome and are excited for upcoming performances where they can showcase their talent.