Carlmont’s choir program performed its annual Pops Concert on May 8 and 9, celebrating popular music from emotional ballads to some of the greatest hits.
The concert, themed “Legends of Harmony,” featured songs by The Beatles, Jackson 5, Laufey, Queen, and many more artists. It opened with an upbeat performance of “Uptown Funk,” performed by the Singing Scots, which is all the choir classes combined into one large ensemble. Carlmont has four different choirs: the Highlanders, Concert Choir, Treble Clef, and Chamber Singers.
Other highlights from the concert included the Highlanders’ haunting performance of “Mad World,” which transitioned to The Beatles’ uplifting “Hey Jude,” and the surprise alien invasion during Concert Choir’s performance of “Come Sail Away,” during which the choir put on alien antennae and two people dressed as Among Us characters ran around the audience.
The concert also featured performances from various a cappella groups. One group, called Fine Tuning, pretended they had given up on performing their song and would sing “Soda Pop” like at the Winter Concert. However, they surprised the audience by performing “Give Up” by The Newfangled Four.
The finale was a performance of “Irish Blessing,” which the choir sings annually at the Pops Concert, in which alumni from the choir program were invited onstage to sing alongside the students.
The choir had been preparing for the Pops Concert since the beginning of the second semester, spending class time each day as well as some time outside of class in preparation for it.
“I typically don’t spend much time on it outside of class. However, there are exceptions, such as practicing music when needed, auditioning for solos or choirs, and concert weeks, where we typically spend a few hours at school. I am also part of one of Carlmont Choirs’ a cappella groups, so we will typically spend an hour and a half every Wednesday morning practicing,” said Adelyn Law, a sophomore and member of the Treble Clef choir and In Treble a cappella group.
The Pops Concert is unique in that it is much more engaging and less formal than the Winter Concert. Students incorporated choreography, costumes, props, and colorful accessories to make their performances more entertaining.
“The Pops Concert is unique compared to our other performances because we sing songs that are widely known by the audience, which makes it more fun for both the performers and people watching,” said Chloe Zhao, a member of the Chamber Singers and one of the choir presidents.
In many songs, there were solos and duets featuring individual students, but solos sometimes need a larger time commitment.
“If you sing for the entire song, with the choir as your backup vocals, there is definitely more time commitment and stress. Smaller solos, that are only a verse or so, don’t require as much time commitment or stress,” said Saanvi Deeya, a freshman and member of the Highlanders who performed a solo in “Mad World.”
Solos also require an audition process, in which students either send a voice recording or audition in person, and are selected for the solo by Genevieve Tep, the choir teacher.
According to many students, participating in choir is a great way to improve upon skills and find a community to get to know others better.
“Choir has helped me grow vocally and technically as a singer, as well as helped me be more extroverted, as learning music and long rehearsals call for teamwork and collaboration. Choir has taught me skills such as problem solving and communication,” Law said.
Others emphasized the supportive environment created within the program.
“The community is so tight-knit, and everyone is friends with everyone, which I think is important, especially if you are still finding where you belong,” Zhao said.
For graduating seniors like Zhao, this is their final choir performance at Carlmont, making it especially meaningful.
“It’s bittersweet knowing it’s my final show, but I’m also really proud of how far our choir has come, and I’m excited to celebrate all the hard work we’ve put into making this performance happen,” Zhao said.
