The Choral Concert took place as part of the “Lights Up!” arts festival in Rugby Auditorium April 23. The festival also included a dance showcase, orchestral concert and jazz concert.The school’s Chamber Singers, Bel Canto, Wolverine Chorus and Jazz singers all performed, concluding with a combined ensemble of all the choir groups.
Bel Canto singer Maylie Macias ’26 said the anxiety of performing can be overwhelming, but the experience of connecting and singing with the others helped ease her nerves.
“Our biggest challenges during or before concerts have always been the anxiety,” Macias said. “Sometimes the day of the concert, we start messing up songs that we’ve practiced so many times, but we just make sure to correct them and wish each other good luck. By the time we get on stage, the nerves go away and we feel happy to perform together.”
Chamber and Jazz singer Alexa Chang ’25 said the small amount of time to practice was challenging, but their hard work paid off in the end.
“I remember feeling nervous, especially for our jazz performance, since we had so many songs and not enough time,” Chang said. “We had rehearsals every possible break for a week leading up to the concert to try and get our music in the best shape possible. I could tell our set was received well, which made me really proud.”
Bel Canto singer Alice Torosyan ’27 said although preparing the songs was challenging, rehearsing in smaller groups made the process easier.
“Practicing songs for the concert was hard because there were some songs that we had to put together last minute,” Torosyan said. “But we just practiced extra hard and dispersed ourselves into small, self-directed groups where we could work together to figure it out.”
Upper School Performing Arts Teacher Zanaida Robles said a student’s live performance brings out a different energy than rehearsals.
“Being in the moment means singing with character and stylistic efficacy,” Robles said. “Sometimes it’s hard to capture that in rehearsal, but when you get on stage and actually perform, a lot of that rises to the surface because our students really want to perform well. They give it their all for the audience, and they’re able to actually overcome things that they couldn’t in rehearsal.”
Torosyan said the strong sense of community in her group made the performances especially meaningful.
“I feel like Bel Canto, especially since we’re a small choir, is really close-knit,” Torosyan said. “I felt almost emotional whenever we we’re singing because you could tell everyone was coming together to perform.”
Robles said the singers have shown significant improvement in their confidence over the year.
“Our final concert is a representation of all the work that they’ve done,” Robles said. “So you hear bigger voices, you see them take more risks, you see them able to make bigger sounds, and all of that is evidence of their progress throughout the year.”
