On Oct. 12, the Gabrielino High School choir department hosted its annual Voices concert in the Gary E. Goodson Theater at 7 p.m. The theme was movie soundtracks, featuring a diverse program ranging from action to comedy.
Directed by Visual and Performing Arts Program Administrator Samantha Theisen, the choir department sang with a faculty band consisting of science teachers Joseph Salcedo and Kevin McClure, and inventory specialist Kevin Weir. Seniors Anson Law and Kristina Lu, along with juniors Jacob Chan, Kaden Chan, and Justin Wong accompanied many of the pieces throughout the concert.
“I am more inclined to spend more time playing piano because of the choir,” stated Kaden. “I think we’re in good shape for performances.”
Kicking off the show, the Concert and Chamber choir sang “Mr. Blue Sky” by the Electric Light Orchestra from the 2014 sci-fi action film “Guardians of the Galaxy”. Dressed in concert black attire, the two choirs continued with a different track from the movie, “Hooked on a Feeling” by Blue Swede.
“One of my favorite pieces is ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ for this concert, it’s difficult but rewarding – especially when we’re keeping up the time with the band,” stated Law.
The first of many solos in the concert, Lu sang “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton, from the 2004 comedy film “White Chicks.”
“Even though it’s been difficult getting this concert in order, we’ve been helping each other a lot. Having a bunch of solos was exciting for our program,” stated Lu.
Following a brief intermission by senior Katherine Milburn, Milburn sang “Falling In Love With You” by Elvis Presley, from the 1961 musical “Blue Hawaii”. The last dedicated solo performance of the concert came after, with junior Zishan Feng performing “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri from the 2011 melodrama “Twilight”.
Unlike the other solos in the concert, some students were given individual parts to sing during group performances – such as “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” by The Soggy Bottom Boys, where senior Joshua Phang and junior Wilson Dam sang solos in tandem with Chamber Choir for the 2000 comedic drama film “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
The two singers reprise their solos during the Men’s Chorus’ rendition of “Always Look On The Bright Side of Life” by Eric Idle from the 1979 satire “Monty Python’s Life of Brian”, joined by senior Anson Law and junior Naoto Haggerty.
Voices 2023 also featured two duo performances. From this year’s “Barbie”, senior Jason Ma and junior Ivy Stroman sang Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For”. Ma also played piano while singing.
The last duo performance was from the hit musical “The Greatest Showman” where senior Sherelene Guo and junior Kelly Chung sang “Rewrite the Stars” with Guo both singing and playing guitar.
“I liked being able to give more opportunities to fellow students for this concert,” stated Guo. “I was able to put in an extra duo piece because I was certain they were ready to perform. I do believe that it was a good show. We worked so hard to get it where we wanted it to.”
In preparation for the annual Voices concert, students were largely working on their own while learning the pieces. With the support of music department staff such as Rachel Chu, Minwary Esther, and Theisen, the choir was able to smooth out any concerns before performing.
“It’s a chance for people to do something new. It’s one of the first times that students are getting more of a voice, more power in decision-making to try opportunities they haven’t gained in the past,” said Lu.
