On Jan. 16 from 7-9 p.m., the New Trier capstone choirs, which include Choir Opera as well as Swing and Concert Choir, all performed in the annual New Trier Township Choral Festival with New Trier’s local elementary schools and their six main junior high sender schools. The junior school choirs and the elementary schools each performed individually, and later came together to sing a song with the capstone choirs for the finale.
This year, the Township Choral Festival expanded the choral program’s community reach with performances from the local elementary schools.
“We are opening up a little bit wider to just get the community singing again,” Amy Branahl, the director of choral activities at New Trier, said.
For the New Trier community, the Township Choral Festival acts as an introduction to both the potential pathways in the choral program and the members choral program itself.
“I just remember it as so much fun,” sophomore Lily Generes, a Concert Choir member and a former eighth grade performer in the Township Choral Festival, said. “I got introduced to the teachers and met the choir directors…which made joining choir freshman year kind of easier because I knew the people and I knew some of the upperclassmen from singing [in] that.”
During the concert, the visiting choirs were also introduced to the Gaffney Auditorium, one of the choral program’s facilities.
“I felt very impressed just because [the Gaffney Auditorium] is such a huge place, and the facility is really great,” sophomore Concert Choir member, and previous eighth grade performer in the concert, Eve Petrovic said.
For the New Trier capstone choir members, they simultaneously perform and represent the choral program to the incoming Trevians attending the concert.
“I have to be a good role model and inspire them to join the [choral program],” Generes said. “[Choir] can be a ton of fun, and you can meet so many great people in it.”
With all of the middle school, elementary school, and New Trier capstone choirs coming together to sing the finale, it creates an opportunity to build community and gives members of the New Trier capstone choirs a chance to leave their legacy.
“If I were a senior, and I’m seeing a first grader singing the finale with me, there’s something really heartwarming about how you can make an impact on their perspective on singing,” Branahl said.
The concert ended with a performance of “Today’s Hope” by Jacob Narverud, by all of the choirs that attended the concert.
“I’m glad that the middle schoolers get to do this event, because I think it was really fun for me,” Petrovic said. “I’m glad that they get this experience.”
Next year, the choral program hopes to expand the Township Choral Festival concert even further.
”We have an institute day coming up for the whole township,” Branahl said. “My hope is that we can meet with all the different schools, to the general music teachers as well as the choir teachers, to make…the festival bigger next year.”