FC music department start fundraising for April Carnegie Hall performance

The FC choir and FC ensemble are already preparing for their fall concert, Oct. 9. The concert will be in the Peoples Church main auditorium at 7 p.m. Each group will present their music for the upcoming Fresno Pacific University Choral Festival, Oct. 19.

This year Susan Ainley’s focus was on forming a choir program that feels inviting to new people. The high school choir is coined Cantiamo, which is Italian for “we sing.” Ainley selected this title for the choir knowing she would have a large group.

“I wanted to pick a name that would explain our purpose and goal,” Ainley said. “I knew we would have a big choir this year, and that we would have quite a few students who had never sung in a choir before. I wanted a name that would be an encouragement to us; a goal. ‘We sing’ seemed to be a perfect name. From the first day of choir, they had a big sound, and I knew it was right.”

The choir will sing the Latin piece, “Ubi Caritas,” which translates to “Where charity and love are, God is there,” and the Irish Revolution war song, “The Wind that Shakes the Barley.” Ensemble plans to sing three numbers: “Great Day,” a spiritual featuring soprano Macie Thompson, ’19, “Bumble Bee” a vocal jazz number featuring several soloists, and “Sigue,” a Cuban poem which features the talents of FC accompanist, Ben Certain.

Coming off of a year of achieving the highest awards at the WorldStrides Heritage Festival, there are high expectations for the music department. Choir has already sung the national anthem at the campus home football game, Sept. 13. Junior Reece Trevino thought the choir sounded excellent singing the national anthem.

“There has been a lot of hype around choir,” Trevino said. “I myself was thinking about joining one of the music groups. They surprised by coming off of such a great year and being even better than last year in my opinion.”

Junior Darrin Williams has attended FC for two years and decided to join choir this year. Williams expects a successful year and is hoping he can bring something special to the team.

“I’m excited to be in a choir that will perform at Carnegie Hall,” Williams said. “I’m really looking forward to going to New York. Being a part of the choir has helped me make new friends and come closer with old friends.”

The choir has 45 students, 26 of whom are boys. Many of the students are first-year members or students who sang in elementary or JH and decided to return. Ainley is eager for Williams to reach his vocal potential and hopes to bring out the “natural bass” in his voice.

“Darrin was initially shy and unsure of his abilities,” Ainley said. “He has grown in confidence. Darrin is a natural bass, the lowest voice designation. He voluntarily comes after class to work with myself and Mr. Certain to improve his skills. We can already hear the difference as he brings a clearer resonance to the bass section.”

Bellezza Ensemble is an auditioned group of 13 girls. Ashley Zamarripa is a second-year ensemble member. Ainely appreciates Zamarripa’s excitement for new music and her drive to master the music.

“She always leads with her spunky personality and is the first to say ‘I love this song’ when we are rehearsing something new,” Ainley said. “She’s an encouragement to everyone. Just last year she was that new member, a little scared and wondering if she was up to the challenge, and now she’s the one saying ‘let’s keep at it until it’s right.'”

In April both choir and ensemble will fly to New York to participate in the National Youth Choir at Carnegie Hall. The students are busy fundraising, selling music muffins every Wednesday morning for $2 and providing hot lunch cooked by choir parents. Look out for any way to support the HS music department. 

Additionally, the music groups perform in several concerts and festivals each year, many on campus. Consider attending the performances and supporting FC music!

For more articles the campus music department, read Musical excellence leads junior high student to success in competition. For a feature article, read Grandparents engage with students during annual celebration.

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