Cramming for Success – How a Choir Event Turned into a Nightmare

Cramming+for+Success+-+How+a+Choir+Event+Turned+into+a+Nightmare

On Friday, November 1, Enchantment choir, made up of sophomores and juniors, got a special chance to join together with other choirs from around the state and get advice from professionals on their performances.

The choirs sing and then a clinician helps each choir improve their performance and singing. The clinic is a learning opportunity for both the students and for the choir directors.

“You see all the things that […] I might not want to do […] or you hear how a clinician fixes it,” said Janice Vlachos, head of the choir department, about different clinics that Enchantment gets to go to.

The clinic was a good opportunity for the students to learn more about what they are doing well and what they can improve upon.

“We got a lot of really positive feedback. That was really fun,” said Vlachos.

The students agreed that it was a good opportunity and that they really appreciated the positive reinforcement that they got from the clinician.

“One of the clinicians was very positive. He really liked our enthusiasm and our ability to understand the messages of our songs,” said junior Sarah Liston.

Though the clinic was a success, the ride back was slightly less successful. There were several bumps along the way. The first of which was that the bus drivers were almost half an hour late, then one of the buses broke down and the entire Enchantment choir had to fit on one bus on the ride home.

“So all 69, I guess the rule is 70 [people] and we got 69 people on the bus,” said Vlachos.

“Though it was a crowded ride back, some of the students even enjoyed the ride home\; it was entertaining at least. It was an adventure,” said junior Sophia Neff.

The choir students were packed so tight that they couldn’t really fall over and got some interesting bonding time with their classmates.

Enchantment is not the only choir who gets these chances. The upperclassman choirs already had an opportunity to meet with the other Boulder Valley upperclassmen choirs.

“I think just when you get out and see other choirs sing, it’s amazing,” said Vlachos.

The underclass choirs will get a similar opportunity later in the year as they will meet with other choirs from around Boulder Valley next semester.

Age of Guinevere and Excalibur, two of Fairview’s upper level choirs, have the opportunity to sing at the Jazz Education Network’s Annual Conference in New Orleans at the beginning of January. Age of Guinevere will also get to sing at the Colorado Music Educators Conference in late January.

Theses chances help the students and teachers both improve their skills when it comes to singing.

“I learn something every time I go,” said Vlachos.