Chamber Choir students share their excitement for their upcoming Cal Poly performance

By Donya Hassanshahi

Members of the Redwood High School Chamber Choir share their enthusiasm in anticipation for their performance hosted at Cal Poly Friday, March 18. Students will be leaving early that morning and returning later in the evening.

Tessa Hemphill, ’22, the choir president, has been a member of Chamber since her sophomore year, and she is beyond excited for this bonding opportunity and experience to perform.

Typically, Chamber would participate in multiple festival trips throughout the year; however, because of Covid-19 and the past lockdown, the ability to travel has been limited.

Hemphill emphasizes her excitement towards the upcoming day-trip and performance saying, “I think this is going to be a great experience for [Chamber]. It’s definitely not like anything we’ve been able to do before, especially this group since we’ve had a whole year off fun things like this and trips, all that. So, it’s going to be a new experience for us and teach us a lot.”

As for the bonding experience, Hemphill expresses how, “Chamber retreat is a time for all of us to get closer.” Though she admits that singing with her peers in a more competitive setting, such as a festival, brings the members of the Chamber Choir closer together.

“When we get to perform in front of other people, that’s probably what I’m most excited for,” Hemphill adds.

Their choir concert held on Friday, March 11, helped solidify the hard work they put into their music in preparation for the Cal Poly performance.

As for concerns, Hemphill jokes that she does not have “… as much as I did two weeks ago.”

Kylen Gray-Jacobson, ’22, the vice president for choir, has been involved with choir for all four years.

In thought of going to Cal Poly, Gray is thrilled for sharing memories and enjoying the festival at which the choir will be singing at.

Though he’s never been to the campus, Gray is looking forward to, “a good trip with the choir and to blow everyone away.”

In preparation for their performance, Gray has no concerns due to the hard work that has been implemented into the music through practice.

“We’ve been trying to focus on dynamics more recently. We have all the music rooted in, but we just have to make sure that we’re making the song interesting by doing different things with it to make it more appealing and sound better.”

Sydney Anderson, ’23, has been a member of the choir program since her freshman year, although this is her first year in Chamber.

Anderson is looking forward to presenting a unified front with her fellow choir peers.

With the second semester coming to an end, her first year in Chamber has been extremely memorable.

“I really love being in Chamber and it’s really fun to have a bond with a choir group that I feel so close to.”

She admits, “Performing at Cal Poly, and universities in general, is a really big deal for [Chamber], and so we’ve had a lot of preparation and we’re really excited.”

Although the festival at Redwood last Tuesday, March 8, allowed Chamber members to recognize what to improve on, Anderson shares her concerns for the Cal Poly performance. The comparison from Redwood performances differ immensely from a university scale, which is both exciting and nerve-wrecking.

With this being his first year as a participant in Chamber, Benjamin Lozano, ’24, is eager to perform, as well as gain a new perception regarding the choir’s overall delivery.

“It’s going to be a great experience and it’s wonderful, while we’re there, to get other people’s opinions on our performance so we can improve.”

Lozano is looking forward to, “making music and singing with [his] friends.” Diligence during practice has left him with no concerns, as Mr. Carrillo, choir teacher, has prepared members of the choir well.

“He helps us correct notes, and then once we do that we get into the more musical aspects like shaping or dynamics,” Lozano emphasizes.

After the festival, Chamber Choir will be stopping for a well-deserved dinner and enjoying time at Avila beach alongside one another.

With the year nearing an end, the Chamber Choir prepares to make the most of it through their performance at Cal Poly.

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