It’s the most wonderful time of the year- especially for those students involved in performing arts here at Coronado, who are wrapping up a semester of hard work with winter concerts.  Tuesday night, December 12th, the six Coronado choirs enthralled their audience by giving passionate and heartwarming renditions of a variety of songs they have worked so diligently to prepare.  The concert featured Coronado’s Men’s Choir, Repertory Choir, The Cantadoras, Chamber Choir, Show Choir, and the skilled Bluenotes, all of whom gave 100% onstage.  Bluenote and Chamber Choir member Lauren Reynolds, 12, gave us some insight into what helps our talented singers succeed.

“My favorite thing about choir is learning new things everyday about music.  We start off everyday with sight reading, which really helps us do well down the road,” Lauren said, adding that choir goes far beyond just singing certain notes. Choir director Mr. Hodur focuses on educating singers about music theory to help train them to understand music on a deeper level.  This is especially relevant for Bluenote singers, who perform a cappella (meaning they sing without a piano or another instrument as accompaniment).  “It is important that we learn music theory and sight read to train our ears”, Lauren said.  Evidently, Mr. Hodur’s teaching tactics are highly effective- many of his students are accepted into the prestigious All-State choir each year.  This year, a impressive 14 students made the cut – Arianna Albright, Deanna Cooper, Isabella Cross, Chloe Drye, Justine Eberhart, Sadie Hedemark, Alexa Huesgen Hobbs, Joshua Kendall, Kelsey Lippincott, Noel Martinez, Autumn Palmer, Daniel Peterson, Caleb Saiz, and Jaiden Twining.  Congratulations to these fantastic singers!

Mr. Hodur’s efforts and the efforts of his students shone bright on Tuesday night, which was the first concert of the year for Show Choir and the Bluenotes. The performance highlighted the magnificent solo voices of Coronado’s best vocalists, as well as the excellent choruses of the full choirs. When asked her opinion on the concert and how she hopes to improve for next quarter, Lauren said, “It was an amazing experience.  I hope our choir can continuing improving on working as a team and getting to know each other as people and musicians, rather than competing against each other.”  Lauren, as well as the rest of the Coronado community, is optimistic about future performances. If you missed out on this concert, be sure to seize the next opportunity to see the Coronado choirs perform!