By Tori Godwin

Choir students pose for a quick picture before learning new choreography.Photo By: Tori Godwin

When too many students had joined choir, a plan had to be devised. There needed to be a way for all students to be able to join choir. That was taken care of when two separate choirs were formed and that has a lot of students talking.
“I feel that it has its good side… and its bad side” says Dakota Bradley, a sophomore in choir. “ Good- If you have a certain class that is only free to you a certain hour, choir will still fit. Bad- the separation between friends in opposite choirs.” Junior Tori Fox states “ I think it is wonderful! It gives you a chance to try something new.” Senior Jackson Seering says that the separation of the choirs is “ Not good because we don’t have the same people.” Everyone has a different opinion of this separation, but they still get to work together on certain pieces of music. “ Both choirs will be singing “ I’ll Be There” by The Jackson 5 together the first trimester.” Bradley dishes.

Since there are more students this year, there is a possibility that certain people could have to give up their voice parts. “The separation has affected my vocal range, putting me in the second sopranos, when, originally, I am a first soprano.” explains senior Krissy Wieringa. Junior Zandra Norris says about her voice part “ No, I can sing all ranges, but I am currently helping out in first soprano.”  “No way! I am and always will be a first soprano.” states sophomore Rachel O’Brien.
Even though changes have been made and the mixed choir, Chorale, and Counterpoint, the girls choir, are separate, choir students remind themselves why they enjoy choir. “Well, singing, of course. We have a lot of fun.” states sophomore Samantha Anthony. Hayley Long, a sophomore, states “I love singing! I also love singing with my friends.” Wieringa explains “In choir, you have the freedom to sing and entertain people.” Norris says “It helps build my self-esteem.” Seering states “Singing stuff I’ve never heard.” Fox says “I just love to sing. It is one of my most favorite things to do.”
With the changes, choir has one thing that will stay the same. That would be the warm ups. Bradley states “We warm up by singing “Oohs” and “Ahs” up and down the scale, mostly.” Long says “We say our ABC’s really fast, or go up and down the scale.” ” Fox says “We do a vocal warm up on the piano, then we do a couple of rhythms by clapping.” Wieringa states “Mrs. Glaub has us do a variety of warm ups, but our normal routine consists of jumping octaves and a lot of oohs, a h’s, and ma ma ma’s.”
One of the joys of choir is having a favorite song that you sing for the concerts. Long states “I have two favorites: I Say A Little Prayer By: Dionne Warwick and Keep Holding On By: Avril Lavigne.”  “I’ll Be There and Flintstones Theme.”Seering says. O’Brien says her favorite song is “The Stay Tuned Melody.” Wieringa states “My favorite song in choir is Who Has Seen The Wind.” “The Climb and I’ll Be There.” says Fox. Bradley says “We started to sing Keep Holding On By: Avril Lavigne on August 26. So far, that’s my favorite.” Norris explains “All of them. Music is my   life!”
It’s important that choir students do not forget why choir is so special and why they would recommend someone to join. O’Brien says “ It’s fun and I get to do what I love.” Norris states “It helps you work alongside people.”  Long says “If you love to sing, join choir. It’s a whole lot of fun!” Wieringa explains “ Don’t be discouraged by the number of people joining. Choir is a great class for anyone who wants to express themselves, entertain people, and have tons of fun along the way!”
The choir students have their strong opinions, but how does the choir director feel about these changes? “I think it’s much better. I’ve always wanted an all girls group.” states Mrs. Glaub,the chorus director here at PHS. Since there were too many students joining, she came up with the idea to form an all girls choir, Counterpoint. Now that another choir was formed, students can still join choir, not having to worry about getting kicked out of the class because of too many people. What is the plan for the choirs, though? “Crimson Connection-(Auditioned), PHS Counterpoint-(All Ladies), and PHS Chorale-(Mixed Ensemble).”says Mrs. Glaub. In past years, Chorale and Crimson Connection have performed together. Questions about if the choirs and Crimson Connection will still perform together have been rising. Mrs. Glaub explains “Yes, on some songs. For our fall concert we will perform two selections with all three choirs.” Also, what types of music has been selected for the choirs has been another question. “A wide variety- from Pop and Country to Jazz and Broadway.” Mrs. Glaub says.

If anyone has ever performed at or have been to a choir concert, they know that Chorale performed on the risers and Crimson Connection performed center stage. Now, there is a new plan for performances. “When performing on their own,” Mrs. Glaub explains “Each choir will be center stage. When we combine choirs, we’ll have two extra sets of risers on each side of the stage.” Also, if anyone has gone to a choir concert, they know that the band and choir usually perform together. That won’t change. Mrs. Glaub states about if band an choir will perform together “Yes, but not until Christmas.” The first choir performance will be held on October 10th at three o’clock in the auditorium. Good luck choir kids.