This year in choir, we’ve been presented with multiple opportunities to learn and grow in our singing abilities. We were able to do this with the help of Mr. Whaley as our choir director. Throughout the portion of this year, we were also able to have in-school visitors, such as Mrs. Rushing. With this, on March 31st, we went on our first choir field trip of the school year. We traveled to East Carolina University to live through the life of a music college major. We were able to see what Ecu was like as well as practice our singing.
The choir’s field trip to ECU was a full-day trip from 9:45 to 3:15. The first part of the trip was a tour around the ECU campus. We were able to take around a two-hour tour to be able to see the buildings and opportunities that ECU presents to its students. Next, we went to lunch in the student center. After the morning, though, we can all agree that our favorite part is hearing the ECU choir. We were able to watch an ECU choir rehearsal for the choir. My favorite part of the trip, I feel, was being able to listen to the choir rehearsal. They sang a couple of pieces for us. But sitting there and hearing the college students sing was an amazing and inspiring experience. The way their voices all flowed together to sound like one united voice. Here are some more of the thoughts from the people in the choir class!
- “I loved listening in on the other choir! They were amazing! I liked learning about how they raised their hands when they personally messed up, to acknowledge the mistakes.” (Kaelyn Cox, 9th grade)
- “My favorite part of the trip was definitely just listening to the chamber singers! All of their songs were amazing to listen to, and it was really inspiring to hear that kind of talent in person! I’m so glad we got to go on the trip!” (Lou Porter, 10th Grade)
- “I think watching an actual rehearsal of the choir brought me to notice a new perspective. Between how they perform and how they sound as a whole, it was genuinely a new experience and very impressive.” (Melissa Assis, 8th Grade)
- “I think my favorite part was watching the chamber singers or whatever they are called. And the tour was a lot of fun because I had never seen the recreation/sport center before.” (Emmy Cone, 8th grade)
- “My favorite part of the trip was hanging out with my friends after the interviews were over. We all tried to solve the Rubiks cube with no luck.😔😔” (Sarah Zwart, 8th Grade)
- “I thought it was very fun and a very educational trip. Amazing people there.” (Gavin Thomas, 8th Grade.)
After listening and watching the choir rehearsal, it was time for us to sing. We got to perform two of the three pieces we are currently learning in choir class. The first one we did was called the Lonely Sea. A wistful song on the edge of being both sad and happy, that talks about longing and searching. The second song was an upbeat song about friendship, and another was called A Bridge Over Troubled Waters. During this time, we performed these two pieces for one of Mr. Whaleys choir professors from college. We were able to improve on techniques and gain an understanding from another perspective on these songs.
The choir’s trip to the ECU campus was a wonderful and very eye-opening experience. We all enjoyed it. This trip made us think about both how we can improve and our future. It gave us a small look into what college life was, as well as the hard work put into amazing choirs. Being able to see others do what they love, like learning and pursuing singing in college, has inspired all of us to do our best and work together in our Oakwood Choir group.
