“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” read Nolan Maurer ’27.
As the ending lines of the Declaration echoed throughout the PAC, PHS Choir burst into song with “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” filling the hall with their voices.
Energy ran high at the fall choir concert, held on Saturday, October 24, marking a lively first performance of the year. Intended to be a fun first concert, fall programs are a unique deviation from the choir’s traditional, more solemn performances, with changing themes every year.
The choir, focusing on the theme of “USA” to honor America’s 250th anniversary, took to the stage aiming to trace the United States’ history through a tapestry of music from different eras. Split into six sections, the concert ran through “Founding a Nation,” to “Fight for Freedom,” and then “The Next Chapter,” the finale about the future of the nation.
“We decided to do this program because this is a tour year for [PHS] Choir. And every time we go on tour internationally, we always bring American music to end our program with,” said Sarah Pelletier, one of the PHS choir directors. “And because this year is [America’s 250th birthday], we’re also picking up on that as well.”
Although the concert primarily relied on music to chronicle the journey of America, the program was also interspersed with standalone readings of narration, poems, and historical texts. However, these narrative pieces were meant to tie the program closer together, in contrast to past readings in concerts, which had the sole purpose of introducing the composers and history of the piece.
“These kinds of narrators are putting it all in context, and sometimes we’ll hear a poetry reading that will go into some music,” said Pelletier. “We’ve done this sort of thing before, but I think this is more cohesive within each section. ... [That is], we’ve chosen some really specific poems to really highlight the message that we’re trying to get across in each section. So it’s a real marriage of text and music.”
Aside from the addition of readings, each section of the program consisted of different genres and styles of music to capture the wide scope of American music. Ranging from patriotic songs such as “American the Beautiful,” to tunes from the Great American Songbook, to theatrical musicals like Bernstein’s West Side Story, the concert incorporated many different styles of music from throughout American history. Each era of history also brought its own musical flair to the stage.
“There’s also some fun things like some staging or blocking on the stage, where we might be walking in from the aisles during one song and ... during another song, we’re sitting on boxes, but the next one, we’re standing again,” said soloist Daisy Pillow ’28. “And then sometimes people are [interacting] with each other on the stage. So I just think that the presentational movement really makes it interesting.”
Traditionally, the fall concert, in addition to Cabaret Night, has always served as a fundraiser for PHSO’s trips, with the added bonus of acting as practice for the choir’s tour pieces, though that is not the concert’s sole purpose.
“I would say, [the concert] not only [teaches] the history, but also just recognizes ... [both] the good and bad parts of our history and celebrating it in a way that acknowledges all those parts,” said Maurer.
Other than acknowledging all parts of America’s history, the variety of songs also lends itself to demonstrating the diversity of the country.
“Overall, I would say [it’s about] unity between different people,” said Pillow. “Coming together to create music has been something that [was] really focused on this year.”