Choir concerts typically consist of classical selections from composers such as Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, and more. This year, however, choir teacher Mr. Little decided to take a different approach for the spring concert.

The Spring concert: The Golden Age of American Musical Theatre included musical classics such as Sound of Music, Brigadoon, Oklahoma, Fiddler on the Roof, West Side Story, My Fair Lady, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, South Pacific, and Carousel. Many of which were fairly new to students.

“I saw how much fun students were having doing the musical and I knew there was a lot of really talented people in our choirs that didn’t have the opportunity to participate in the big school musical,” Little said. “I wanted to give them the opportunity to experience what it was like to be in a musical production. To kind of force them to try it in a safe environment.”

This drastic change in repertoire was challenging, yet rewarding. The choral technique they were so used to singing with had to be adjusted to fit the nasally-sound that musical theatre is known for. Not to mention, singing in character.

“I’ve been in only one other musical and I didn’t really have a big part, and I’ve always had a huge interest with musical theatre,” choir member Darby Barnett (10) said. “I was excited that maybe this would be the chance to get a solo and be able to perform at more of a high school level.”

Out of 50 students in the choir program here at VHHS that participated in a survey, nearly 70% have had some level of involvement in musical theatre in the past. However, not all choir students have the time to be in the fall musical.

“I’m shooting for the 12 sport award,” soprano singer Emily Carido (11) said, “and so I was never able to audition for plays or musicals like I did in middle school. I really missed being a part of those kinds of productions, and I thought this concert would be a great way for me to experience that again.”

In addition to singing in totally new style, Little added an extra layer to the concert by including staging by John Chambers, dances by May Rodrigo, costume changes, and props for each number. To top it off, he also included originally composed transition music by William Crowle.

“I am so thankful to our school’s administration, Mr. Russell, and to be able to work with Mr. Chambers, May, and Dr. Crowle. We have a really great collaboration and it’s really fun to just watch this unfold,” Little said.

The concert was an interesting change involving many new elements of performing, but there was no avoiding how much of a challenge it was.

“There are a million moving parts,” Little said. “I don’t think a concert like this could happen outside a school like VHHS. I have never heard of another school doing something like this in a choir concert to the extent that we are doing. Some might sing songs from musicals, and that’s nice, but we have three guest soloists that we hired and handmade costumes [we] purchased from all over.”

The students also realized how much was involved with the concert very quickly. “The concert had a lot more choreography, unusual from what we do,” tenor singer Stefan Savin (11) added.

Even though the style was new for many students, they really enjoyed performing as they sang.

“It’s been a good opportunity for me especially as a beginner in choir because now I’ve done a wide variety of musical styles in my first year alone,” baritone singer Shane Williamson (11) said. “The solos and acting parts have also helped me overcome some of my nerves when it comes to singing in front of people.”

The concert also allowed those who weren’t able to stick with performing to experience the feeling of being on stage once again.

“The last time I did musical theater was in 8th grade, and I have felt too busy throughout high school so far to get involved with our school’s theater program,” soprano singer Ema Velisavljevic (10) said. “Doing this concert made me remember how great of an experience it was, and it didn’t affect my schedule that much since we practiced for it during school hours.”

The most rewarding part, from a teacher’s perspective, was getting to see students really step out of their comfort zone as opposed to standing still in a sea of blue choir robes.

“I like watching student who are normally kind of shy and reserved. I like watching them being forced to move, and act a character, and then they start to get into it,” Little said. “They find that this is a whole other side to them that they didn’t know about. That, to me, is really enjoyable. To have a lot of students say, “I didn’t know we can do that.”

This concert also opened the door to classical musical theatre, an era of music that is so vital to American history.

“I realized that you guys don’t know Oklahoma” Little continued. “There are these tuneful, classical, old school musicals that your parents probably have in their repertoire, but you don’t know. Later on, when My Fair Lady comes to town in a community theater, or something, that those guys will take their families to go see it. They’ll be patrons of the art, they’ll be connected to this classic American artform, hopefully, because of an experience that they had in high school.”

Pushing students to do this concert opened up a completely new world of music to them. Introducing them to the classics will keep the art alive that much longer.

Unable to make the Spring concert? No worries! The choir’s Cabaret theme this year is modern musical masterpieces. Don’t miss it this May!