Kicking off October, the Chorale, Concert Chorale, Bel Canto and Concert Choir performed at the Fall Choir Concert in the main gym on Oct. 5, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.

Starting off strong, the Chorale, made up exclusively of freshmen, sang “Hands Across the Universe” by David Childs and “Exhilaration Is The Breeze” by Neil Ginsberg. 

Freshman Addi Sriram, who is on the choir board and has been singing since she was in fourth grade, said that her favorite song was “Exhilaration Is The Breeze.” Sriram also said that it was difficult to “get the notes to work together and blend.” 

The other choirs also overcame challenges before performing.

Sophomore Brooke Weintroub described how “it’s hard trying to [mix] three different voice [groups] and try to find your note.” 

Following the performance by the Chorale, the Concert Chorale, composed mostly sophomores, performed “Korobushka” by Nikolay Nekrasov and “It Had to Be You” by Frank Sinatra. 

Bel Canto took the stage next, and the all-female group sang “All The Way Home” by Sarah Quartel and “What Happens When a Woman” by Alexandra Olsavsky. 

“What Happens When a Woman” featured junior Delaney Rybicki as a soloist at the beginning. The choir joined in with stomping, snapping and other forms of percussion. This particular song was also performed acapella.

  The Concert Choir was the last of the four choirs. Their first tune was “Animal Crackers” by Eric Whitacre, a piece capturing different animals. Senior Diego De La Rosa, the social media manager on the choir board, said that this was his favorite song and described “finding the right keys” as one of the challenges.

The second piece they performed was “Let the River Run” from the 1988 movie “Working Girl.” 

Senior Grace Schulenburg, who has been singing since sixth grade and is also president of the choir board, described the piece as a “strong song.” 

Senior Yvie Gaiden added that “some of the harmonies are more challenging so it takes more practice.” 

To bring an end to the performance, all four choirs came together and performed two tunes, “Be the Change” and “Nightmare Before Christmas Medley,” which includes songs like “This is Halloween,” “Kidnap the Sandy Claws” and “The Oogie Boogie Song”. 

Choir Director Dr. Jeffrey Brown said he chose songs from “The Nightmare Before Christmas” because “[the songs are] very memorable, [and] there’s lots of fun things to do. [There’s] lots of screaming, shouting, speaking, spooky stuff, which is great for Halloween.” 

Dr. Brown, who has been a choir director for 28 years, described the choir as a fantastic group.

The choirs will be performing again in the Butler Lake Auditorium on Nov. 2, 2023, along with the middle school choirs. 

Gallery • 6 Photos

Eva Fahrenkrog

The all-female Bel Canto choir performs a powerful mix of snapping, stomping and harmonizing to accompany their singing of “What Happens When A Woman.” Written by Illinoisan Alexandra Olsavsky, this song featured junior Delaney Rybicki in a solo.