The sun begins to rise and light filters through the windows of the music suite as a select few students arrive at school and prepare their voices to sing despite early morning weariness. The voices of the ensemble blend together as they practice their music for the performance.

The high school concert choir, ensemble and junior high ensemble performed at a concert in the G.L. Johnson chapel on Oct. 13. The students in the choir anticipated this event as a chance to show the public all the music pieces they prepared.

“I am always excited before a concert,” Aaron Kroeker, ’10, said. “You get to show people all the things we have learned and it provides a chance to see how far we have come as a group.”

After practicing with each other for only two months, the choir members rehearsed three songs per group for the concert.

“I was very pleased with the concert,” Aaron Bryan, director, said. “It was very exciting to think that we are at this level so early in the year. Both groups have improved dramatically since the beginning of the year. While we still have a long way to go, we have come a long way in our musical skills as a group.”

The choirs performed songs at the concert that ranged from folks songs to hymns, and each piece presented a different emotion to the audience.

“It went well, especially for the first concert of the year,” Amanda Merzon, ’12 said. “I like ‘David’s Lamentation.’ It is so different from all the other songs that we are singing.”

The High School Choral Festival, hosted by Fresno Pacific University on Oct. 16, provided an opportunity for the high school choirs to share their music with other schools around the valley. Both the concert choir and the ensemble performed along with other schools, such as Central High, Clovis East, Clovis North and Buchanan.

“Buchanan has always had a strong music program,” Alexandrah Aleman, ’10, said. “Clovis North is doing great for their second year in existence, and they will continue to improve and be good competition for us in the future.”

The choirs will begin preparing for the fine arts Christmas concert in December. The date will be announced.

For more information about choir, read the April 9 article, Annual spring tour inspires choir.