Singers serenade auditorium of friends and family

Women’s Choir, Men’s Choir, Bella Voce and Troubadours came together on Tuesday, Oct. 24 to serenade family, friends and community members with a number of songs from each choir. To open the night up, the Women’s Choir sang “Moana,” beginning with two solos performed by Judith Hernandez (21) and Anna Augustine (20) in this rendition of a song from Disney’s 2016 animated movie Moana, the two singers carrying out the solos very nicely. Tierra Curtis (21) also performed another solo in the first song. “Kyrie Canon,” accompanied by a beautifully done flute accompaniment by Lexi Nigro (20),  and “Firefly” were the last of the Women’s Choir’s more formal songs. Christina Contreras, the choir director, said concerning Women’s Choir, “The best executed as far as our concert was firefly. They loved that one and it was such a cool song, and they did it really really well.” Following Women’s Choir, Men’s Choir took the stage presenting “Drill Ye Tarriers” and “The Best of Johnny Cash” as well as “Tuimbe.” “The Best of Johnny Cash” rang with reminiscent tunes, the rendition accompanied by Ian Irwin’s (18) passionate solo part way through the rendition. Bella Voce came on with “The Lamb and the Tiger” with percussionist Bryce Decker (18) after Men’s Choir finished their serenades. Bella Voce’s last more formal song, “Give Us Hope,” began with a fervent and heartfelt narration done by  Janae Jarnagin (19) and also incorporated a well done trio consisting of Tesha Brown (18), Isabel Sevde (18) and Savannah Sheets (18). Contreras said, “This senior class is just so musical and so involved in general, so I’m trying to ride out this awesome year with this group. I’m a little nervous about next year, but I’m just really trying to live in this year and enjoy it with this group of seniors that’s just so musical and dedicated, and they’ve been with me for four years and they’ve sung together for so long.”

After a brief intermission, the Troubadours continued the night with a longer song titled “Wicked,” which had a The Wizard of Oz theme as well as two solos performed by Jessica Chapman (18) and Decker. Jackson Contreras (19), adorned in a top hat, even presented himself to the audience to utter the well-known lines “The wizard will see you now,” tipping his hat before returning to his place in the choir. Christina Contreras said, “Wicked was 47 pages of music that they learned and memorized. It was really long, so I’m super impressed with that. It was a ton of music. We got to see this in New York City last year when we went, so that’s what kind of what inspired that song.” Before moving on to the less formal songs, the Troubadours  finished the first parts of their performance with “When October Goes” and “Lamentations of Jeremiah,” which the choir director said is “such a meaty song, they’re singing in Latin, and the time meter changes all throughout, it’s extremely challenging.”

Women’s Choir took the stage once again with a spirited performance of “Respect,” including a number of good solos done by Tanya Prather (20), Lexi Nigro (20), Teleah Riegel(18), Julissa Contreras (20) and Abigail Hays (21) as well as great saxophone accompaniment by Sarahy Quintana (18). The Women’s Choir came on clad in jeans and tie-dye before performing this song, incorporating choreographed snapping, clapping, and other such things. Men’s Choir followed Women’s Choir with “Disco Fever,” their sleeves rolled up and collars unfurled. Christina Contreras said, “Their growth, just even from the beginning of the year till now, has been pretty amazing.” A song with a similar name, “Fever” rang through the high school auditorium as Bella Voce, adorned in feather scarves, as they sang this choreographed song. The second to last song, the Troubadours walked on and performed “It Had Better be Tonight,” an amazingly carried out performance with a romantic undertone which featured a serenade and more formal dancing among the choir members, each paired to a person of the opposite sex. After the flag was posted by a military veteran, all four choirs combined to perform the grand finale of the night “Let Freedom Ring!” Christina Contreras said, “The last song that we all sang together was a big patriotic piece, and that was very powerful and meaningful to me as well.”