City High choirs held a choir concert at the University of Iowa’s Voxman auditorium, featuring pieces from all four curricular choirs (Treble Choir, Little Hawk Singers, Advanced Treble Choir, and Concert Choir), plus our two extra-curricular choirs (Männerchor and Select Treble Ensemble) Students began working on this particular concert set directly after winter break, so for roughly five to six weeks.
“I decided to audition for the ‘One Voice’ solo because I’ve sung that song twice before, once in 8th grade choir and then my sophomore year in choir as well, so getting the opportunity to sing the solo this year for my senior year was like a full circle moment for me,” Julia Shannon ‘26 said.
Throughout those short weeks, the ensembles worked on all aspects of their performance, including vocal technique, text, storytelling, dynamics, tone, rhythm/pitch accuracy, as well as auditioning soloists and collaborating with other musicians.
“The biggest challenge was memorizing the songs. It’s always scary when we have to put our folders down for the first time and just trust that we know everything. One of the songs, “Dirait-on,” was in French, which made it especially challenging to learn,” Tehila Roseman ‘28, said.
The concert featured several soloists, including Julia Shannon, Farrah Zimmerman, Molly Nolan, Evelyn Mozena, Amelie Bechtel, Tehila Roseman, Mackie Uhl, Auggie Dickerson, and Marlowe Tobin. Many of the soloists were allowed just a little over a week and a half following callbacks and selections to practice their solos.
“Each song brings unique challenges that we use as learning targets in the classroom. Whether the song is challenging rhythmically, incorporates text in a foreign language, or is particularly difficult for a variety of other reasons, we aim to intentionally create a balance in repertoire to target all aspects of our vocal music priority standards,” Rachel Meehan, assistant choir director said, “As far as the biggest challenge overall, at least for my ensembles, I would say that for this concert we focused most on vocal tone and dynamic contrast, which I believe translated really well to the stage Wednesday night!”
The concert was not only special for the singers but for Rachel Meehan, who experienced her first ever concert as a choir teacher.
“My favorite part was definitely working with Ms. Meehan. She became our choir director after winter break, and I am endlessly grateful for her. She is such a positive light and an incredible teacher. She’s also the first female choir director at City High, which made it even more special. I felt really lucky to be part of her first group of students,” Roseman ‘28, said.
