The choir department will perform its annual spring show at Christ United Methodist Church (UNC) in Plano. The first show will be May 8 at 7 p.m. and the second will be May 9 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $15 for reserved seating, and can be purchased online.
“[The choir’s] ability to read music, their tone production and their attitudes have always been good,” head director Alexander Carr said. “We have a great group of students this year, [and] their technical skill has really improved. We’re so grateful for them.”
This year’s theme is Broadway and musical theater, with nine soloists performing each night. The choir will be performing “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from “Hairspray,” “Seize the Day” from “Newsies,” “When I Grow Up” from “Matilda,” “What is This Feeling?” from “Wicked,” “We’re All in This Together” from “High School Musical” and “Dear Theodosia” from “Hamilton.”
“We have to have a broad enough theme [so that] we can find arrangements that have been written for the voicing that we need,” assistant director Kathryn Zetterstrom said. “There’s so much great theater music out there.”
In the past, the choir has used the audiovisual (AV) system in the auditorium for spring shows. However, because of renovations, the school declared that the auditorium isn’t open for any performances this year. They first considered the freshman campus gym, but there wasn’t a sound system suitable for singing. The choir’s booster club then worked to find a space more conducive to live performing with projection screens and multimedia — Christ UNC.
“We usually have food, but [at Christ UNC], we’re not able to [have] food for it,” head director Alexander Carr said. “It was a little bit of a fortuitous route to [find a location], but I’m really grateful and excited for this weekend. [We won’t] have those great desserts, but we do have great music.”
The choir has been preparing a dance choreography created by senior Anika Agrawal for “We’re All in This Together” from “High School Musical.” Second period choir students have been coming in during third period to teach the class the choreography.
“It’s a little nerve wracking [backstage], but the second the music starts and we march on stage, it definitely [gets] better because we’re surrounded by friends and people we love,” junior Violet Caver said. “We’re not all perfect dancers, and sometimes we mess up some notes, but in the end, these songs are supposed to be fun and we’re having fun.”
There will be a senior tribute projecting seniors’ photos along with a baby photo. Carr said there will be more sentimental aspects added this year.
“I think there’ll be some very tearful parents [since] their kids [are] about to graduate,” Carr said. “It’ll be really special.”
