Our high school choir is getting ready for the Spring Concert, its biggest event of the year. This upcoming show is an accomplishment that wasn’t possible just a few short years ago. Now, with the determination of a new teacher and hard work from students, they’ll be putting on an unforgettable performance.
While the choir is small, it hopes to grow each passing school year. Currently, there are eight members, including:
Madilyn Arnone
Anna Berry
Keira Hayden
Kohana Morgret
Lucy Ridings
Rylei Smiley
Makayla Tennant
Michael Wolze
Despite this, the choir’s sound is mighty, and members have an evident passion for the class, like Sophomore Rylei Smiley.
“People need music because what is a day without music? “she asks rhetorically. “Like, what what are you doing?”
Smiley’s love for the arts started at a young age, and when she found out the school offered choir, she knew it was the perfect fit for her.
“I've always loved music my entire life and just that we had a class here was just awesome for me,” Smiley says.
Ms. Ligons is the choir teacher, who’s been at the helm for the last two years. In addition to teaching choir at the high school, she also instructs music classes at Lincoln Elementary and helps to oversee the middle and high school band programs. Since she arrived, Ms. Ligons has transformed the choir into something extraordinary.
“It was a music appreciation, music history type of class,” she explains. “They never learned to sing together.”
Now, students are singing together and going beyond that. The choir knows rhythms, note names, and how to read sheet music. Also, Ms. Ligons is taking students to the next level by challenging them to more advanced singing skills.
“This year, I started them on two-part singing to venture away from singing together,” Ms. Ligons says proudly. “They sing two different parts.”
This means some students are sopranos, the highest female voice in choral music. These singers usually take the melody or highest harmony. Other students with a lower vocal range sing Alto and typically fill in the harmony.
During the second semester, the focus is on rehearsing for the much-anticipated Spring concert. This year, the choir will sing a handful of songs like “Best Day of My Life,” “Count on Me,” and “The Climb.” Sophomore Kiera Hayden is counting down the days until the big show and believes a different song might stick out to the audience – “A Thousand Years.”
“It’s just very pretty,” she says about the song. “It’s something different than what we’re used to singing in choir. It’s more slowed down, and usually we sing stuff that’s more upbeat.”
However, she’s most excited for the group’s closing act, a chart topper from 1999, “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. With some permission from Ms. Ligons, the choir will have a little surprise for those who attend the Spring Concert.
“We can’t do that just sitting there, straight-faced, seriously singing that song for the concert,” Hayden remembers telling Ms. Ligons. “We have to be goofy with it. She goes, ‘Okay you can.’”
Hayden’s not giving out any clues. Instead, parents and the community will have to attend the show and experience the concert themselves.
The Spring Concert is taking place at the high school. The event has a tentative date set for May 1st at 7 p.m. Performances will include Lincoln Elementary students on the Recorder, WMS/JCHS band, and WMS/JCHS choir.