The Upper School Performing Arts Department hosted its 2021 Winter Choral Concert, featuring performances from Bel Canto, Wolverine Chorus, Chamber Singers and Jazz Singers, in Rugby Auditorium on Dec. 10.

Students performed a collection of 25 pieces, including “March of the Kings,” “Dona Nobis Pacem,” “At the Round Earth Imagined Corners,” “Falling Leaves,” “Peace Peace,” “I Got Rhythm” and “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.” The concert included performances from soloists Rhea Madhogarhia ’22, Rohan Madhogarhia ’22, Isaac Tiu ’24 and Amanda Korris ’22.

Performing Arts teacher Zanaida Robles directed the concert and said she appreciated the opportunity to perform in-person and receive live feedback.

“I was excited to watch [all the performances] come together and especially to perform them in-person,” Robles said. “Even though I was the conductor, my goal was to make way for the students [and] facilitate their performances. It was intensely gratifying to be able to share our performances with others.”

Like Robles, Bel Canto singer Zoe Roth ’24 said she enjoyed performing before a live audience following a year of virtual performances.

“It felt great to perform in-person again,” Roth said. “There was a certain feeling to being onstage that an online concert could not replicate, especially when all the choirs sang together. It felt great to be a part of a larger community of individuals who love to perform as much as I do.”

Similarly, Chamber Singers member Patrick Yeh ’23 said he enjoys performing for the community with his choir.

“As musicians, when all our hard work comes to fruition and everything clicks into place, everything just feels really serene,” Yeh said. “I also just love performing with the choir community and all my friends in Chamber Singers.”

Yeh said he was impressed with his peers’ abilities to overcome setbacks in their preparations for the performance.

“We have been prepping for a few months at this point,” Yeh said. “It has been hard working out all the logistics to really get time and space in Rugby [Auditorium] to practice the full show multiple times. Despite that, we had most of our music down and we sounded pretty good.”

Chamber Singers member Terence Mathews ’23 said he enjoyed performing with his friends despite the challenges of scheduling the event.

“It was really exciting to be in-person again, especially in front of a large crowd,” Mathews said. “Preparing for the in-person concert was much easier than preparing for one online because we were able to hear each other and communicate with each other more authentically. Though it was difficult trying to schedule a concert in-person, [which is] something we did not have to worry about [when performing via] Zoom, it was definitely worth it being able to perform alongside my friends, who I have been practicing with for so long.”

Chamber Singers member Bronwyn Vance ’24 performed alongside Mathews and said the opportunity to sing with her peers gave her a sense of confidence that could not be replicated online. She said she is glad audience members enjoyed the concert.

“I missed in-person performances given how long it has been,” Vance said. “It was frightening knowing that lots of people were going to watch us perform. But I knew even if I messed up, my peers were there to support me. I was excited to see people’s reactions to our concert because it had been a while since we’d sung [together], so I was glad to hear that others enjoyed it.”