Liberty’s choir program took to the stage once again on March 12 for the annual spring concert, their third concert of the ‘23-’24 school year. Taking place shortly after two choir contests (solo & small ensemble, and large ensemble), the spring concert always offers a unique experience.
In addition to the three large ensembles that regularly perform–Concert Choir, Select Treble, and Chamber Choir–six small ensembles got to perform as well. In past years, state-bound soloists had a chance to perform at the concert as well, but this year Liberty earned so many “Exemplary” ratings (gold medals) that there wasn’t enough time to fit in all of the performances.
With gentle, reflective pieces like “Flight” by Craig Carnelia arr. Ryan Murphy and powerful, fiery pieces such as “With a Lily in Your Hand” by Eric Whitacre, the audience was kept guessing as to what emotional experience the next song would bring. When asked about the process of picking music, Carter Datz, the director of the choir program, revealed a bit of an unorthodox approach.
“I actually don’t think of themes ahead of time and pick music that fits the theme,” Datz said. “A lot of other directors do, but I like to pick the songs first. After you pick songs, a theme will emerge naturally. I took one of the last lines of one of the concert choir songs ‘Wild and Precious Life,’ and I thought it encapsulated a lot of what we sang about tonight, which is the wildness and preciousness of life with all of its ups and downs.”
With the spring concert being the third of their four main performances, the choirs are officially beyond the halfway point for the year. As the end of the school year approaches, seniors are presented with a natural opportunity to reflect on their experience singing in the choir program.
“I’ve participated in plenty of choir concerts at Liberty over the years, and I have to say that this year’s spring concert was one of the most professional, passionate, and memorable performances that we’ve put on,” Connor Higlen said. “In years past, it feels like we sometimes scramble to get the pieces memorized by the night of the performance, but this year we were already working on musicality and text weeks leading up to it.”
If you want to hear the choirs sing before the school year ends, their next performance, the pop concert, will take place at 7 p.m. on May 5 in the Liberty Performing Arts Center.
