At 6:00 pm on Wednesday, Sept. 16, Dolce Voce and Magnum Chordum choirs stepped out onstage to perform songs they had been working on all quarter. Mrs. VanderLey greeted the audience once they were on the stands, and the students appeared excited to be showing off what they’d been working on.

Before they began to sing, however, VanderLey described why there were only three songs on the playbook – she had wanted to give the students three difficult songs to learn, rather than several easier ones. It would make the performance shorter, yes, but the conductor was certain that this was a good idea.

As soon as that was out of the way, the choirs began to actually perform their Wild West themed songs. The first was “Ruben’s Train,” a song that maintained a slow tempo and a haunting melody that praised the scenery of the west, consisting of repeating cannons, the melody filling the room like a breeze. This song would attract the attention of many for 100 miles, like the whistle on Ruben’s train.

Up next was “The Water is Wide,” which was about trying to come back home to a loved one. Alas, the river is too wide to cross, so the weary traveler can not yet reach their love. It was soft and sad, with an air of loneliness about the melody and accompanying music.

The last song of the performance was “Polly Wolly Doodle.” This was a peppier, faster-paced song than the other pieces at the show, and described the tale of a man traveling through Louisiana and missing his wife. Partway through the song, there was the sound of birds whistling the tune, and then there was a unique twist that was incorporated, as well – the students pulled out kazoos and played the tune once on the brightly-colored, plastic instruments. It was an entertaining piece to an entertaining song.

When the performance concluded, Simone Millsap, seventh grader in Dolce Voce, was quite pleased with her performance. “We did really good,” she said as the other members of the choir celebrated another show well done.

All-in-all, the choir concert, albeit short, was still an entertaining performance. See them next quarter for more amazing music.