Chamber Singers bonded over their annual retreat at Camp Wrightwood in the San Gabriel Mountains Sept. 27-28.
Students rehearsed songs and participated in group activities such as a scrabble tournament.
The retreat was chaperoned by Performing Arts teacher Rodger Guerrero and piano accompanist Sara Shakliyan.
“We had just a fantastic time,” Guerrero said. “Choirs really have their own, unique personalities, and it’s important to self-discover who they are early on in order to progress as a musical unit. The singers come from such diverse Harvard-Westlake areas because Chamber Singers is one of the few specific activities that includes sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Yet the retreat enables them to begin unifying in both a musical and social manner.”
Of the 41 Chamber Singers, 39 attended the retreat. “The retreat was a great bonding experience,“ singer Delilah Napier ’15. “We got so much work done and it was so great to work together in a non-school environment. I feel like I learned so much more about my peers.”
The tradition of the Chamber Singers retreat began in 2002 in an effort to bring the choir closer together.
“My favorite part [of retreat] always is the final discussion,” Guerrero said. “The singers sit in a huge circle in our rehearsal room. Each member then speaks to their retreat experience, what Chamber Singers and music in general mean to them, and their hopes and dreams for the year.”