After the lights dim, the reverberation of the piano becomes mute as the tenors harmonize with the basses. The once pianissimo notes from soprano develops into the main focus as the voices complete their last practice.

Ensemble and women?s chorale performed their first Fall Concert in the new Johnson Chapel at Peoples Church on Oct. 16.

?I decided to be in the Fall Concert to highlight their work,? Aaron Bryan, choir director, said. ?This is in preparation for the festival sponsored by Fresno Pacific University at Campus Baptist Church.”

Ensemble performed two songs at the Fall Concert: “If Music be the Food of Love” and “Circus Bands.”

“I like Circus Band,” Jacob Esquivel, ’10, said, “because it is upbeat and it feels like you are there in the audience a circus.”

Ensemble currently has 29 members and, despite losing experienced singers, Bryan remains optimistic.

?I love this year’s ensemble,? Bryan said. ?They are great. This year is a rebuilding year since we lost nine senior boys. I am really proud of them. The Fall Concert is like a test, we perform and look back at the end of the year to see how much we have grown and improved.?

In order to be in ensemble students tried out last year. Bryan listened to each student while sight-reading as part of the audition.

?Music is an expression on what is inside you,? Bryan said. ?Ensemble is important to express what is in us by praise and worship.?

This concert also debuts the women’s chorale, an elective class for the girls on campus. The choir only practices once a week on Monday nights, from 5-7 P.M.

“We are really good and have a lot of talent,” Kim Swift, ’08, said, “but we need to train our voices. Although it is challenging, the choir is a lot of fun because we usually get food and we are all friends.”

The ensemble will next attend the choral festival sponsored by Fresno Pacific University at Campus Baptist Church on Oct. 19. The festival will last from 8-10 A.M. The choir will also listen to other high schools such as: Buchanan, North, Selma and Central high schools.

The adjudicator for the festival at Campus Baptist is Bruce Rogers from Mount San Antonio Jr. College in L.A. According to Bryan, Rogers is one of the best choir conductors in the country.

“The purpose of this festival is to enjoy the beauty of music with other
choirs from around the area,” Bryan said. “This is a wonderful opportunity to share not only our love for music, but our love for Christ. Our goal is to get some really great advice from our adjudicator that will help us improve and to be a good example in word and deed.”

For more information on ensemble, contact Bryan at [email protected] or the high school office at 299-1695, ext. 131.