Event preview: Chorus Winter Concert
Above: PRIDE IN THE PROCESS: Clarke Central High School sophomore Ephraim Holbrook-Hill sings during the 3rd block chorus class in Room 261 on Nov. 18. CCHS fine arts department teacher Naomi Su has helped her chorus students prepare for their Winter Concert on Dec. 11 through daily rehearsals during third block. “I hope that (the students) have a lot of fun with (the concert) and come to love being in chorus and performing, because it's a lot of kids’ first year in chorus,” Su said. “I hope that throughout the year, they feel that they've developed their musicianship and their music reading skills.” Photo by Margo McDaniel
The CCHS chorus class is preparing for their Chorus Winter Concert on Dec. 11.
Clarke Central High School’s Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Chorus students are working to prepare for their Chorus Winter Concert in E.B. Mell Auditorium on Dec. 11 from 6 to 7 p.m.
CCHS fine arts department teacher Naomi Su, who teaches the third block chorus class that contains all three chorus levels, hopes to help students improve through the concert preparation process.
“I think (performing) will (help students) gain confidence. You can rehearse as much as you want, but the experience that you get from doing it for real is really valuable,” Su said. “I feel like they'll be able to see how all their hard work in the classroom paid off when they do it on stage.”
Songs the chorus are preparing include “Sing Gently” by Eric Whitacre, a “Frozen” medley, “Sleigh Ride” by the Ronettes and “Carol of the Bells” by Mykola Leontovych. Students prepare their voices by doing daily exercises built to improve their technique, which Beginning Chorus student Ephraim Holbrook-Hill, a sophomore, finds helpful.
“We usually do warm ups, like lip trills or vocal exercises, which warms up your vocal cords, and we do breath warm ups (which)helps us have more breath support,” Holbrook-Hill said. “Overall, (these exercises) elongate how long we can sing for and our breath support so we can sound better.”
Above: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced-level chorus students rehearse “Sing Gently” by Eric Whitacre during 3rd block in Room 261 on Nov. 18. CCHS fine arts department teacher Naomi Su has been working with students to help them memorize and polish their selections for their upcoming Chorus Winter Concert on Dec. 11 from 6 to 7 p.m. in E.B. Mell Auditorium. “(We practice by) running pieces and stopping to work on specific places where we need to fix tunings or go over parts again, as well as singing section by section to work on dynamics and phrasing,” Su said. Video by Margo McDaniel
For Holbrook-Hill, getting to do performances with the chorus program is a unique opportunity to get involved with extracurriculars at CCHS and to make friends.
“I feel like the more performances that I get involved with, people are able to see me for what I do and see what kind of person I am,” Holbrook-Hill said. “You don't want to just do nothing throughout your high school (years). (I like) having new experiences with people and making new friends through these performances and (chorus) classes.”
Story by Margo McDaniel
Margo McDaniel is a senior and the Editor-in-Chief for the iliad Literary-Art Magazine at Clarke Central High School in Athens, Georgia. This year, she hopes to help creativity flourish at CCHS by giving student artists and writers a space to create, grow, and express themselves. In her free time, she enjoys dancing, listening to music, and spending time with friends and family.