A Harmonious Evening: This Year’s Annual VHHS Fall Choir Concert
The annual Fall Choir Concert is always a spectacle of the autumn season. On this distinct night in October, all seven choirs join together to produce a medley of harmonious music. This year’s concert was just as incredible as the last, for it contained several standout pieces and unforgettable moments. Here is an overview of the concert from start to finish, detailing each choir’s performance and everything special in between.
The concert began with Singers, the high school’s show choir. The members of VHHS Singers are well-rounded choral students, for they learn and perform both concert and show material. They will eventually take their show to competition in the early Spring. At the Fall Concert, they performed two pieces that differed immensely from one another. The first was a gentle ballad titled “O Love” written by Elaine Hagenburg. The lyrics of this song came from an old poem written by George Matheson on the eve of his sister’s wedding as he mourned the loss of his own fiancée. Elaine Hagenberg herself states in reference to this song, “though lingering dissonances remind us of past heartache, the beautiful promise remains: ‘mourn shall tearless be.’” The second piece was “Niška Banja,” arranged by Nick Page. This song is challenging in many ways; its lyrics are in Siberian, and the time signature feels unnatural, but the Singers handled it wonderfully and produced an amazing performance.
Volante performed next, a group made up of all trebles from the Freshman Campus. Their first piece was “Gloria Fanfare,” written by Mary Lynn Lightfoot. This piece varies in style, for it has a combination of beautiful harmonies and interesting rhythmic moments. The second piece, “Fire and Ice” by Emily Crocker, was a wonderful moment in the concert. Not only did Volante sing the piece, but they also incorporated American Sign Language and signed lyrics throughout the song.
The next group was VOX, a choir composed of tenors and basses from both campuses. The first piece was an arrangement of the famous song “Oak and Ash and Thorn” originally performed by The Longest Johns. Taking this 2020 hit and transforming it, Douglas E. Wagner crafted a wonderful choral arrangement that VOX performed wonderfully. Their second song was “Cover Me With the Night” by Andrea Ramsey, an upbeat song that uses a translated prayer text as its lyrics. This piece contained two solos sung by Lawson Cearlock and Mike Terrell.
The next performance was by the high school’s pop a cappella group, Just Singin’. Just Singin’ performs at several events throughout the year, but their most well-known performance is Singin’ Valentines, an annual Valentine’s Day Tradition at the high school. At this concert, they performed three pieces, all arranged by Deke Sharon, with the addition of arranger Rob Dietz on their second song. The first was an arrangement of the song “Royals” originally performed by Lorde. The second was the famous Maroon 5 song, “She Will Be Loved,” featuring soloists Jackson Glenn and Sadie Norris. Their final song was originally performed by Dua Lipa. “Don’t Start Now” is a fun, upbeat piece that created a strong end to their performance.
The next group to perform was Voces, a group composed of trebles from the Main Campus. Their portion of the concert included two pieces. The first was “Storm” by James M. Desjardins, a suspenseful piece that seems to embody the emotions brought on when caught in a storm. The second was an energetic arrangement by Emily Crocker of the Appalachian folk song “Shady Grove.”
The second to last group was Ensemble, a small, auditioned group of trebles. Much like Just Singin’, Ensemble performs at many events throughout the school year, although theirs are mainly off-campus performances. Their first piece was an arrangement by Maryanne Muglia of the well-known song “Landslide.” Her arrangement placed this Stevie Nicks song in a new light, and Ensemble performed it beautifully. Their second song was “Breathe” by Jeremy Landig, a song that calls everyone to take a moment to let go of all stress and just breathe.
The concert concluded with three incredible pieces from Honor Choir, the high school’s combined auditioned group. Unique to Honor Choir this year is their selection to perform at the AMEA conference of 2027, a high honor and a very special opportunity. The three pieces performed by Honor Choir at the concert will also be performed at AMEA in the Spring. The first was “Ascribe to the Lord,” an upbeat, spirited piece based on Psalm 29 and written by Rosephayne Powell. The second piece was a Simon Carrington arrangement of the James Taylor song “That Lonesome Road,” a ballad with meaningful lyrics that call its listeners into a moment of reflection. This song also featured soloist Jackson Glenn. The final one was especially dear to several students, for it was sung by the Honor Choir two years ago at the very same concert. Written by the talented composer Jonathan Reid, “Measure Me Sky” is a uniquely beautiful piece that never fails to become a crowd favorite.
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