Every year, the month of October in room 2228 brings together new people, different music genres, and a harmonic union of students in song.
On Thursday, Oct. 22., the Athens Drive Chorus gathered in the auditorium along with family and friends of choral members for their annual fall concert at 7 p.m. There, they sang a variety of songs ranging from musical theater to gospel spirituals, receiving applause at the end of every single one.
“As a choral group, Vocal Ensemble’s work ethic for this concert has been definitely high. There’s high expectations from our teacher and from other people who have been to past concerts or have seen past performances,” said Abby Kaufmann, senior and alto in Vocal Ensemble.
The Athens Drive Chorus consists of three main choirs: Women’s Chorus, Men’s Chorus and Vocal Ensemble. Women and Men’s Chorus are gender-based choirs open to all students, with both classes being a mix of students that are more experienced than others and students that are beginners to choral music. Vocal Ensemble is available to students in 10th to 12th grade, where Honors credit is given and class size is limited to 20-30 students.
The students have been practicing for the concert starting the first week of school. By doing sectionals during rehearsals, having combined chorus practice at lunch tutorials, and warming up for a few minutes before every class period. The chorus students prepared daily for the concert, utilizing all 88 minutes of class to better improve their performance ethic.
The concert began with Vocal Ensemble singing two songs, “Soldier” and “John The Revelator,” a traditional gospel song that incorporates the style of call and response. When they finished with a standing ovation, Women’s Chorus took the stage and performed four pieces starting off with “Stars I Shall Find,” a poem written by Sara Teasdale later composed into a lyrical piano piece by Seth Houston and concluded with “Jordan’s Angels,” a gospel spiritual composed by Rollo Dilworth that the all-female choir sang at the ECU Invitational Choral Festival.
At around 8:15 p.m., all three choirs filled the risers to sing a combined piece called “Calling My Children Home,” a 1970 spiritual composed by Doyle Lawson. The ensemble of over 70 students took a group bow as applause spread throughout the whole auditorium. The fall concert had come to a close.
The Athens Drive Chorus has two more concerts planned for the school year. Their winter program falls on Dec. 17, while their concert for the spring is set to take place on May 5. As the year progresses they plan to take on more difficult and unique songs while covering a wider variety of musical styles and genres.
“The fall concert is always such a fun experience. It’s our first formal performance of the year so it also gives us a chance to set the tone for the year. It’s going to be great for people to see our growth as the year progresses.” said Nicole Liguori, Vice President of Vocal Ensemble.
