Junior vocalist joins chamber choir to expand musical opportunities

At the beginning of her freshman year, junior Aimee Castañeda joined choir, unaware of the possibilities before her. From performing at Carnegie Hall in NY to local FC football games, choir opened up a door to vocal growth and musical potential.

Castañeda first discovered choir at the last chapel of her eighth grade year. She saw an opportunity to advance her vocals and gathered inspiration to join a program that traveled the country and won awards.

“I joined choir freshman year,” Castañeda said. “The year before I saw them perform at the end of the year in chapel. They sounded really good and I wanted to be a part of that.”

Growing closer to her peers by performing and practicing with them, Castañeda’s favorite part of chamber choir remains the family oriented side.

“I find it most enjoyable when I or a group of people have been working really hard on a song and it all comes together,” Castañeda said. “It reminds me of why I love to sing. I like when we all sing together the whole song through perfectly or when we have talks just to grow closer.”

Castañeda’s favorite memory of choir took place in NY with the performance at Carnegie Hall. The experience inspired her and her fellow peers to peruse their love of music and grow in their vocal maturity.

“New York was a new experience,” Castañeda said. “Seeing new things, meeting new people, and learning a new way of life. I also had a lot of fun getting closer to my friends and classmates.

“We performed several songs chosen by a director,” Castañeda continued. “We also sang with hundreds of other students from across the united states. It was very stressful having to learn all the songs, but it was worth it when we all sang together at Carnegie Hall.”

In the following podcast, Kyler Garza interviews Castañeda on her experience with choir and the different opportunities throughout the year.

Introduced this year, chamber choir gathered the more experienced and advanced singers from the regular Cantiamo choir. Castañeda chose to audition for chamber choir to further her musical potential.

“I was in the woman’s assemble,” Castañeda said. “It was something we talked about at the end of the year because we were losing a lot of students because they were graduating. We talked about having a chamber choir then we just auditioned and it became a thing. “

Castañeda learned the importance of unification as a choir during her time in chamber. Not only acquiring different styles of singing, she learns how to blend her voice with the surrounding vocalists.

“My voice has gotten a lot stronger,” Castañeda said. “I’ve learned many new ways of singing and how to blend with others so we all sound unified. I learned singing in choir was not only about your own voice, but learning how to harmonize with others as well.”

With Castañeda’s hard work to reach her personal goals, she learns from her peers to grow with her team. While chamber choir exists as a smaller and advanced group, they learn quickly to adjust to the music they need to perform.

“We all had to work really hard individually,” Castañeda said. “We come together to accomplish the goal and learn music. Since we learn more difficult music and since it’s a smaller, more advanced group, we get things done quicker and can adjust whatever we need to easily.”

Junior Faith Monroy built a friendship with Castañeda in choir and during day-to-day classes. Monroy observes the growth in Castañeda and follows her example to keep improving.

“Aimee is one of my best friends,” Monroy said. “She has one of the biggest hearts. She is patient and will help students who need help in choir with notes or in other subjects if you don’t understand the lesson.

“She’s very passionate about choir,” Monroy continued. “Her voice projects well to the crowd helping blend with the other sections. She is persistent on improving by recording her parts section and practicing later at home.”

Not only apart of choir, Castañeda participates in worship team both at school and at her local church. The vocalist displays her passion through performing in front of others.

“I sing on the worship team at my church,” Castañeda said. “I joined because I feel more connected to God and it helps me grow stronger in my faith. It’s helped me see things differently and also see music differently. It showed me it can influence people and it’s just brought me closer to God.”

In the following tweet, Castañeda performs “Starlight” during Thursday worship chapel, Sept. 19.

Students lead the high school and junior high student body in worship, Sept. 19. Students sing songs such as “Starlight” during the weekly Thursday chapel. To see a video of the chapel, check out @thefeather’s Instagram story! @fresnochristian #thefeather pic.twitter.com/TOW4MWqUhO

— The Feather Online (@thefeather) September 19, 2019

Castañeda’s father Enrique Castañeda witnesses the excitement his daughter exhibits at church and school events. He sees her drive to improve in her daily practicing of songs at home. 

“I remember when she was a baby trying to sing with me at church,” Castañeda said. “Also at home. It’s memorable because being so young trying not only to sing but also wanting to worship, she’s continually rehearsing new songs and seeking God in prayer and fasting.”

Castañeda hopes to learn more about her voice and make it stronger. She aims to try different styles of singing, and learn how to incorporate them in her own voice.

“I want my voice to become a little stronger,” Castañeda said. “I want to grow in my way of singing and learn new things about different styles. These past years have helped me grow in my own way, but I want to focus more on learning about different styles.”

Chamber choir plans to sing next at the fall concert, Oct. 21. Come out and listen to your campus choir groups!

Kyler Garza can be reached via email.

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