Concert Choir. Choraliers. Chorale. Chamber Singers.
Unless you’re in one of these classes, it can be confusing to know which choir course is which, especially since they all start with the letter ‘C.’
Concert Choir is for freshmen girls, no audition re- quired.
Freshman Lauren Browning said it’s a good class to get started in the choir program, and the singers in other classes help the freshmen learn.
“I think, mostly, it’s watching [the upperclassmen] and learning from them,” she said. “When we get to do big num- bers with them, it’s really cool.”
For girls, going up a level promotes them to Choraliers, but freshman and sophomore boys enroll in this class, also. For concerts, choir director Marsha Moeller said the Con-
cert Choir joins the Choraliers and they sing together. Chorale consists of robed singers. Junior and seniors
make up this group, a similar composition to Chamber Singers.
“The Chambers singers are a select, auditioned group of boys and girls that do show choir music and contest music,” Moeller said.
The singers in that group are in the highest level of choir at Blue Valley. Browning said she admires them for their talent.
“[Getting into Chambers is] everyone’s goal going into [choir],” Browning said. “I know that’s my personal goal.”
In addition to the choir classes, choir students can audi- tion for singing groups outside of the school day. Classy La- dies, a girls’ group, performs extra show tunes and dances. The male equivalent, Select Blend, takes singers from Cho- rale and gives them more concert and show music.
Freshmen recently auditioned for these groups. Brown-
ing and the other freshman girls audition for Classy Ladies, and she said she hopes to continue climbing the ladder of choir.
Browning said she enjoyed watching the older choirs perform in concerts. Choir concerts occur six to eight times a year.
“All the groups are performing groups,” Moeller said. “They all compete. They all go to contest in the spring.”
BV takes eight ensembles to the spring contests, along with 30 soloists. Every singer gets a chance at singing in an ensemble, but the level of difficulty in the music varies.
The older students sing more complicated music, such as pieces with four to six parts. The less experienced singers work on two to three part music.
Moeller said the younger students learn the harder pieces and adjust to higher levels well.
“I love watching the growth from freshman year to senior year,” Moeller said.