Katelyn Liu
November 20th, 2021
On Friday, November 6, the HKIS combined choirs held their first concert of the year.
Wavelength, their fall concert, featured students from the Combined Choir, the Men’s Choir, the Women’s Choir, and the Madrigal Singers, and for many of these students, this concert was the first in more ways than one: several members of the concert choir are new to the high school or to the choir program, and Wavelength would have been their first concert experience.
The concert repertoire was diverse and varied, with pieces spanning seven languages and several genres. Opening with the Chinese folk song Dui Hua, the program then expanded to include traditional choral tunes like “Kalinka,” classic rock ballads like “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and, at one point, a spoken-word recitation of Octavio Paz’s “Cloudburst” delivered by Mr. Gabriel Fornes in its original Spanish.
“A good music program does not come together by accident,” noted Dr. David Lovelin in his opening statement introducing the concert. In order to prepare themselves for the performance, the students participated in multiple rehearsals outside of school hours. Eoin Fitzsimons (12), a student leader in the choir council, attributed part of the success of this concert to the choir retreat held back in August.
“It can be nerve-wracking singing around people you don’t know,” commented Fitzsimons. “Getting to know everyone certainly helped our confidence and togetherness as a choir.”
There is still more work to be done this semester: APAC Choir will be in Guangzhou from November 15 to November 19, and the Christmas choir concert will be held on December 9. However, members of the choir are optimistic that the confidence they gained from the success of Wavelength would carry into their upcoming performances.
“We have so much potential in the choir this year,” Fitzsimons remarked. “This concert just proves that we can turn that potential into success.”