The Sahuaro Choir performed its first concert of the year on Wednesday, October 16th, 2024. While this may have been their first concert of the year, it was not their first performance of the year, and they have many more to follow.
One of the first events was on September 21st at the first annual Tucson Tenor Bass Choir Festival held at the Gregory School. At this festival, there were over 21 schools represented from all over the city, and 42 singers were present. Less than a week later on September 27th, the Tucson Girl’s Chorus Treble Festival took place. Both events culminated in a concert full of lively music, and the students got the chance to learn from and sing with other choir kids from the area!
The concert held at Sahuaro was the next show. It was also in collaboration with Borhman K-8 and opened with Borhman performing their repertoire of Have You Seen the Ghost of John and Shooting Star. The middle school then went off stage and Sahuaro went up. The choir performed as an ensemble and then performed Rose, Rose, and then in a girls’ group and a boys’ group. The girls performed the song Land of Our Dreams, and the boys performed Fire Down Below, a Sea Shanty complete with dance moves.
They ended with Ad Astra and held up signs that said “TO THE STARS” – a lyric in the song. The stars sign was accidentally held upside down, but senior Zander Basham said, “… upside-down stars, highlight of the night.” The two choirs, accompanied by percussionists J, Lillith, and Mia, both got up on stage to sing Siyahamba. This piece was a fun and harmonious way to end the concert!
The next day, on October 17th, the choir traveled to the TUSD Chorale Festival at Palo Verde. In Palo Verde’s auditorium, 11 advanced choirs from middle and high schools sat and watched each other perform. Sahuaro sang Ad Astra, Fire Down Below, and invited Borhman on stage to sing Siyahamba again. Zander said the event was, “Fantasically cool,” and his favorite song was a piece called Time that Palo Verde performed.
About a week later, Zander Basham and Kaiana Anderson were selected to perform in the University of Arizona Honor Choir. There were 80 auditioners this year, and only around 50 to 60 kids made it in. This two-day event, on Friday and Saturday, ended with a concert following the theme of American Icons. This was Kaiana’s second year in the choir, and she narrated the event following a script that the conductor, Dr. Davis, put together. This was Zander’s first year and he sang a solo, which he clarified was, “… a quartet, but I was the only guy in it, so some people consider that as a solo.” Amazing roles for both talented students!
The audition process involved singing a solo, sight singing pitches, a rhythm check, and oral recall, where a series of notes are played and they have to sing back the pitches. Zander appreciated being in a choir with students who were all at a high-skill level because it made the process easier. They both agreed that it was a long day of standing and Kaiana said, “You need to bring good shoes.”
Kaiana lost her voice and wasn’t able to sing at the concert on the 16th. This made learning her pitches and music a little hard, but thankfully she had just enough left to sing at the UofA Honor Choir Concert. Her favorite piece to learn, and a difficult one musically, was called Discoveries. It was made up entirely of quotes from female scientists. Her favorite piece to sing, however, was called I Can Sing by Carlos Cordero. For Zander, his favorite piece was I Dream a World. He was at a loss for words when describing this piece and said, “Not only was it the easiest to learn, but it was just like…it was… ah… I don’t know it was so perfect you’d have to hear it to understand I guess. It was just fantastic and the ending was perfect for a concert and everything.”
The choir had another performance at the Cougar Foundation breakfast on November 2nd where they sang the Star Spangled Banner, the alma mater, and Ad Astra for the returning alumni and their family. After all this, there are still many events to look forward to in the choir world, including solo and ensemble, region choir, the fine arts seal, and more! “It’s always busy, but always fun!” Kaiana said. “High school choir is the best because you can have fun with it still.”
Ms. Barnes encourages everyone to join the choir because, “… it’s a huge community thing, and we’re part of the even bigger community- the Tucson community of young people singing in choirs.” She mentioned that many of the events they do involve choir kids from all over Tucson and joining choir is perfect if you want to do something for your community. During the holidays, they plan to do more community service and sing at nursing homes. Even if you don’t know how to sing, Ms. Barnes says, “Then you’ve come to the right place. We all have the capability to sing, we’re born with it. And it’s a human response.” She says that singing is never about sounding like a professional but to, “just make a noise. So I encourage people to do that in choir, and then I can help you and train you with the technique.” But in the end, she said, “It’s really not about technique, it’s just about making a noise together with a bunch of other people, and having fun.”
Choir is a family, and if you’re looking for something new to join, regardless of your singing capabilities, then the Sahuaro Choir is the right place for you. They look out for each other, and they have fun!
