By Annie Nesbitt ’13, Contributor
This year saw such a dramatic increase in interest in choir that a second class, Choir Lab, is being offered during B bell, in addition to the traditional A Bell Choir. The two choirs consist of 17 students, a large improvement over last year. In fall 2009, the Upper School Choir was made up of seven people. During the second semester, because of schedule changes, it consisted of merely six students and the class was only offered during A bell.
A bell choir now consists of three juniors, two sophomores, and three freshmen. B bell Choir Lab includes one senior, one sophomore, and five freshmen. Five of these students are new to CCDS. These two choirs will be singing the same music for their joint concerts.
Mr. Matt Dahl, Director of Upper School Scheduling, said he was surprised by the large number of students who listed choir in their top three choices when signing up for classes at the end of last year. “There was no way to schedule 22 people into one class,” said Dahl. “So, we created the second class called Choir Lab, and the name is the only distinction between the two.” Dahl explained that it was relatively easy to add a second choir class, because “it was easier to manage schedule and facilities than with the band.” Mr. Mark Femia (pictured), Director of Drama and Vocal Music, said that “Mr. Dahl was able to make the room and schedule work for me to have a second bell, which eliminated schedule problems.”
Mr. Femia teaches both choir classes. He said he believes that the increase in the number of freshmen signed up for choir was due to his help in teaching the middle school choir. “Participation in seventh and eighth grade choir let the eighth grade know who I was and strengthened their interest in joining.” Madison Komnick ’14, who participated in the Middle School Vocal Ensemble, said that she “had a lot of fun [in Vocal Ensemble]. Upper School choir is small, so I thought it would be similar.” Komnick also said that she thought the choir “could use more people.”
Despite the enthusiasm for the new choir, there is also a void left by the previous seniors. “We lost leadership and an amazing amount of energy and enthusiasm that will be hard to replace,” said Rebecca Miller ’12. Mr. Femia agreed, saying “we had big groups leave in the last two years, and they had sung almost all four years of high school, so they were leaders for the rest of the choir.”
As the school year is only a couple weeks in, there choir’s future is uncertain. However, all students said they are looking forward to the rest of the year. The new students and freshmen will bring a different energy to the group and help fill the void left by the graduating seniors. “It’s pretty cool. This is the first co-ed chorus I’ve sang in for a while,” said Will Bernish ’13. “[But] it’ll probably be a while before I get the feel for the class.” Komnick agreed, saying that she has “already learned a lot on theory.” Carson Aquino ’14 added that it is a “fun, relaxing class, and a good way to start off the day.” Nia Blasingame ’14 also expressed enthusiasm about joining choir, saying that “The choir at CCDS is much better than at my previous school.” Mr. Femia shares the students’ enthusiasm, stating “any group is different with a new group of talent.” Mr. Dahl added that he is happy about this “very positive sign for the music program.”
Photo of Mark Femia by Ilana Habib ’11, Photogrophy Editor