The auditorium doors close, and the only light in the whole room focuses on the stage, revealing a group of masked performers about to begin singing. At the final chime hit, they all turn to face the audience and belt out the first of many songs that will be performed throughout the night. 

On Wednesday, October 26th, six talented choirs showcased their musicianship and captivated their audience at the Strongsville High School Fall Choir Concert. This annual concert allows for all of the choirs to perform the repertoire that they have been working on since the beginning of the year. Strongsville High School choir director Ms. Vickie Eicher describes the night as a “huge success filled with moments of laughter and moments of tears.” She continues, “Our choral students were able to truly present the meaning of each song, not just the notes.”

The first group to perform was The Mustang Express, our school’s award-winning competitive show choir, accompanied by the show choir band. The Mustang Express performed part of their “Midnight Mystery at the Masquerade” show that they will be taking to many competitions throughout the rest of the year. When asked what being a choir leader means to her, Mustang Express Co-President Anaya Daryapurkar stated, “Being a proper representative of the group is vital, especially when our show choir travels to competitions and invitationals and shows gracious professionalism to other groups. As a leader, I help facilitate that kind of positive reinforcement, thus creating a fun and productive environment for everyone.” 

After the Mustang Express, the Concert Choir performed for the first time this year. Ms. Eicher explains that she tries to pick pieces that will help enhance the singers’ musicianship while simultaneously being fun for the choirs to perform, evident through Concert Choir’s performance of “Nightmare Before Christmas” by Danny Elfman, arranged by Alan Billingsley.

The next two choirs to perform were the all female acapella group, All or Nothing, singing “Levitating” by Dua Lipa and the all male acapella group, Acafellas, singing “Vive L’Amour” by Traditional Men’s Glee and “Bright Lights Bigger City/Magic” arranged by Deke Sharon. Both groups rehearse outside of school and perform without any accompaniment.

Women’s Chorale was the next group to perform, singing three pieces: “Je Le Vous Dirai (I’ll Say It Anyway) by Pierre Certon, “Autumn Vesper” text by Emily Bronte and music by John Leavitt, and “Hocus Pocus Mas Up!” arranged by Jacob Narverud. Lillian Ferguson, Co-President of Women’s Chorale, comments, “I think the concert went really well for all of the groups, and I’m proud of everyone.” 

The last group to perform was Cantorum, Strongsville High School’s top honors choir. They performed two pieces from the Ohio Music Education Association’s Class AA list: “Even When He Is Silent,” lyrics by anonymous and music by Kim Andre Arnesen; and “Daemon Irrepit Callidus” by Gyorgy Orban. Cantorum received a well-deserved standing ovation after their performance and truly pleased the crowd with their advanced 6-8 part harmony acapella. 

The Fall Choir Concert was definitely a success for all choirs involved. As a saying used by Ms. Eicher states, “The applause may fade, but the memories will always live on.” Although the fall choir’s applause was not sparse, this quote still holds as the memories made that night will last a lifetime.