Choir groups perform competition pieces

The Fresno Christian choral department will present their spring concert, May 6, in the Peoples Church auditorium at 7 p.m. Groups set to perform include elementary and junior high choirs, Cantiamo high school choir and the Bellezza ensemble.

The campus choral program, led by director Susan Ainley, will celebrate their musical prowess and lead the audience in praise.

According to Ainley, the spring concert is a chance to accomplish three things.

“First, we show the audience our musical growth by singing difficult music that connects with people,” Ainley said. “I know the students will recognize how far they have come in one school year. They think about the music they sang early in the year, and how long it took to learn, and they can easily see the progress they have made.”

Ainley believes the concert is also a “thank you” to the audience for their support by singing music that “hopefully moves them spiritually.” She said choral concerts are a time to connect to humanity through music and connect to God through singing.

“Finally, it’s the final concert for our seniors, and it’s always a beautiful moment,” Ainley said. “Sometimes, they don’t even realize what singing meant to them until that last note is released.”

The following Feather Instagram post is during the choral department’s trip to the Heritage Festival in Anaheim.

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Bellezza ensemble, high school Cantiamo choir and JH choir perform at the City of Brea-Curtis Theatre for annual Heritage Festival, April 5. After performing, each choir received a critique from one of the adjudicators to improve their music. Next, the groups head to Disneyland for the day. Awards for the Hertiage Festival will be held in California Adventure at 7 p.m. #thefeather #fcchoir #fcheritagefestival @fresnochristianschools

A post shared by The Feather (@thefeatheronline) on Apr 6, 2019 at 7:18am PDT

One such senior is Macie Thompson, who has sung under Ainley since the fifth grade. She encourages her classmates to attend the performance.

“Students should come and listen to us so that they can support us and see how hard we’ve been working all year,” Thompson said. “This one will be special because it will be my last.”

A highlight for Ainley in 2019 was the large size of the choir and that they were able to learn music and perform it at a high level. She said the boy’s section became a force, which allowed her to pick “great music for them to dig into.”

“I think a special moment for the boys was singing the a cappella piece ‘Esto Les Digo’,” Ainely said. “They learned how to blend in a way that helped them find the beauty in the text. Of course, our Spiritual ‘Daniel’ is a powerhouse, no holding back. That will be a piece that the audience will love.”

Blake Deffenbacher, ’20, a sixth-year choir member, agrees that this group is well-suited for their pieces.

“I think it will be really interesting for everyone to see how far we’ve come as a choir throughout this school year,” Deffenbacher said. “Starting out, we had a lot of new members who still had to learn the ins and outs of choral music, but now we’re in a place where we know our music and perform it well.”

This concert is so special to Ainley because the evening will showcase the choral experience from elementary through high school.

“Each group will sing the pieces they performed at the Heritage Festival,” Ainley said, “and the audience can appreciate the progression from sweet children’s voices to a full, rich sound of four-part harmony of the concert choir.”

First-year choir member David Tuck, ’22, says the event will give a feel for what the high school choral experience is like.

“It’s the conclusion of the year for choir,” Tuck said. “It shows the overview of the year; plus we’ll also have a slideshow of some of the pictures of events we’ve gone to. I would encourage students to come to experience our year.”

In the following podcast, Bryce Foshee interviews David Tuck about what to expect at the spring concert.

Ainley is wrapping up her 18th year as a choir director at Fresno Christian.

“It’s becoming a thing to be a ‘choir lifer,'” Ainley said. “After this concert, the choirs will prepare new music for graduation. The ensemble will sing a beautiful arrangement of ‘Amazing Grace’, with the choir and ensemble combining to sing ‘Worthy to be Praised.'”

The spring concert begins at 7 p.m. in the Peoples Church auditorium, May 6. Be sure to get there early and bring a friend.

For more recent articles, read Campus tennis team aims for Valley Championship and Promo: National Day of Prayer unites school, connects students through Christ.

Bryce Foshee can be reached via Twitter @brycer_f and via email.

Below is a slideshow of Spring Choral Choir, May 6.

Gallery • 8 Photos

Fresno Christian choir department director, Susan Ainley, directs the choir durning the annual Spring Choir Concert, May 6.