Students, teacher share value of annual concert

Continuing for its fifth year, the annual Valentine’s Day Concert highlights 18 students singing various love or break-up songs, Feb. 15. With dinner served before the singing, the concert features the largest amount of singers since its beginning.

The concert started a few years ago as a way for the former women’s ensemble, Bellezza, to have something to perform. Due to an empty schedule, the women’s ensemble and choir teacher Susan Ainley came up with the idea of the Valentine’s Day concert.

“Five years ago, for our first one I had a women’s ensemble and we had nothing on the calendar for January and February,” Ainley said. “So we were looking for opportunities to sing and we were just kind of kicking around ideas in the music suite, and I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to sing some love songs?’ And in about 15 minutes, we had the whole thing planned.”

Since the concert began, it has grown in many ways, such as the variety of songs and the amount of students who want to perform. The concert will feature a song from the men’s section of Chamber Choir as well as a six-piece band.

“We changed from the first year of me picking all the music for people to sing, because they couldn’t think of anything, to students being very involved,” Ainley continued. “We also started with a student band, Mr. [Benjamin] Certain, all students and I were playing the accompaniment, and now we have all professional musicians.” 

Choir member since fifth grade, Brennen Tozlian, ‘21, goes into his second year of performing in the Valentine’s Day Concert

“I did the Valentine’s concert last year,” Tozlian said, “and I’m doing it again this year because I love performing and singing.”

The following tweet features additional information for the Valentine’s Day Concert.

❤️Love is in the air, and the Valentine’s Concert is this Saturday! Check out the flyer below for more details. Buy your tickets ASAP! @fresnochristian #TheFeather ❤️ pic.twitter.com/bXWEi5cMTK

— The Feather Online (@thefeather) February 12, 2020

Joining the Chamber Choir this year, freshman Elliana Gonzalez shares her perspective going into her first performance.

“I attended the concert two years ago and it is one of my favorite events we do at Fresno Christian,” Gonzalez said. “I’m not totally nervous, I’m mostly just excited to show people what I can do and to see the other performers do an amazing job.”

Though the students work to learn their music, Ainley and many others also collaborate to ensure the concert runs smoothly.

“What I worry about the most is just getting everything ready before people come in the door,” Ainley said, “meaning tables and food and all the chords to the instruments, just the technical is all I ever really worry about.” 

In the following podcast, Celeste Castaneda interviews Susan Ainley on the preparations for the Valentine’s Day concert.

Ainley also feels the concert is a time for students to go out of their comfort zone and increase their abilities and confidence.

“Many students have told me flat out they would not do it,” Ainley continued. “But after talking to them and encouraging them,  when they come back all of them and say it was the hardest thing they ever did and the best thing they ever did.” 

Tozlian shares how he felt more encouraged after his performance, even though he was nervous before taking the stage.

“I was most nervous about messing up on stage,” Tozlian continued. “I felt more confident after the concert because I got more compliments than critiques, I’m excited to hear what songs everyone else sings this year.” 

Gonzalez was able to develop new skills while practicing her songs for the concert. She has seen herself overcome challenges and grow in confidence.

“I’ve seen many people do the concert in years past and it encouraged me to go out of my comfort zone to do this,” Gonzalez continued. “On the first day of practicing with Mrs. Ainley, I realized I could use my voice in many ways I didn’t know I could before and achieve new goals and challenges I had faced in the past.”

Though students are working on their music, the choir still has to rehearse their festival music to ensure they’re prepared for their next performance.

“The hardest part is that we still have to work on all of our festival music,” Ainley said. “I’m still working on Nashville stuff, we still have to sing all the things we have to do, and have class everyday and still work on individual solos and duets.”

With all the stress to make the night enjoyable, Ainley reconsiders whether or not to do the concert every year. Gaining more popularity by the year, the concert has become a traditional event on campus

“Every year I say ‘I’m not going to do that next year, it was just so much work’,’’ Ainley continued, “but every year I have more and more students who show an interest in singing, where as back in the day I had to force people to sing at the Valentine’s concert. Now I have so many that I almost have to turn people away, so I think it’s been a  really good opportunity for students to try something new that maybe is scary to them and then they overcome it.”

Ainley shares her favorite moments from past concerts, seeing her students perform becomes an emotional moment.

“Watching all of my students face their fears,” Ainley said, “they get on stage, and sing a really beautiful song, that just makes me so proud I can barely get through the songs without either screaming or crying.” 

While nerves may fill students throughout the concert as they get ready to perform, and sometimes mistakes are made, what the students accomplish just by performing is rewarding on its own.

“The times that I have failed or I make a mistake on my instrument or a student forgets the words,” Ainley continued, “those are the easy things to remember because I know how hard they worked in class, but the thing that stands out the most is just what a happy joyful moment it is. All the students backstage singing along and then clapping and cheering it’s such a rewarding moment for students and having parents say how happy they were to see their student up there doing that.”

This year the concert will be $15 per person due to the new cost of dinner, with reserved seating. The money made will go to funding the upcoming choirs trip to Nashville, Tennessee, in March. The dinner will be made by Deserve a Chef and served before the concert, followed by dessert.

The Valentine’s Concert at 6 p.m. and will be held in the SMC (Student Ministries Center), Feb.15. 

For more articles, read Discover Fresno exposes community to city needs, volunteer opportunities or Campus cheer team earns Grand Champion title, overcomes hardships.

Celeste Castaneda can be reached via email.