City High Choirs Sing Into the Year at Their First Performance

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City High concert choir encapsulating the audience with a high fermata note

Jae Dancer, Reporter

After many weeks of practice, City High choirs sing their way into the choir season. On Thursday 3, family, friends, and grannies gathered in Opstad auditorium filling it with claps and cheers as the choirs snag their melodic tunes. 

“I thought the night was very successful first outing for everybody,” Tyler Hagy, music director at City High said. “The audience seemed very receptive to the music we were doing and I was very pleased as well.” 

First on stage was the Treble Choir composed of freshman and sophomore girls. The Treble Choir sang “A Girl’s Garden,” by Randal Thompson, and “Sisi De Noya,” by Jacob Narbvenu featuring two soloists, Nikkie Vangorder ‘23 and Jadan Murphy ‘23. Prior to singing, the Treble Choir did vocal dynamic warmup where they used their hands to signal which note they were on. The lights shone brightly on them and the audience watched with amazement as the 14 and 15-year-old girls sang and signed effortlessly with their hands. 

“‘Sisi de Noya’ was really just kind of a celebration of life and just making music together,” Hagy said.  

Soon after, the Little Hawk Singers took the stage performing “Linden Lea,” by Ralph Vaughan Williams, and “This Old Hammer,” by Neil Ginsberg.

Following them was the Advanced Women’s Ensemble singing “I am the Gentle Light,” which is a beautiful piece composed by Paul Mealor and “Oh Had I Jubal’s Lyre,” from “Handel’s Oratorio Joshua”. 

Finally was the Concert Choir performing songs “Sainte-Chapelle,” by Eric Whitacre, “Jenny Kiss’d Me,” by Eric Barnum and “Always Singing” by Dale Warland.

“My hope for ‘Always Singing’ is that it encapsulates this year in a sense of the kind of mood for the program for the year,” Hagy said.