On Friday, March 3, SCHS’s concert choirs and string orchestra performed their annual spring concert. This year, there was a twist: each song was performed and introduced in a language other than English.
For students like freshman Sofia Mateos, this immersion model presented a unique opportunity to see their background celebrated on stage.
“It feels very inclusive. I grew up doing music my whole life, and there wasn’t very much inclusivity, so it feels very good to have my culture somewhere in there,” Mateos said.
Concert Choir I started the show with “Haru Ga Kita,” a Japanese song about the coming of spring. Music director and choir teacher Johnny Erdman shared that the concert setlist was diverse in subject matter and came from a variety of sources.
“Half, if not more, of the songs are ones that students suggested,” Erdman said. “I had my knowledge of where to look for different things, but students could say, ‘Oh my gosh. This is a children’s song that my grandma sang to me, and I found an arrangement of it. Can we sing it?’ So it’s totally a team effort.”
“Bashana Haba’ah,” the choir’s second piece, was introduced by a student speaking in Hebrew about the song’s hopeful message. These moments were exactly what Erdman had hoped for: a moment for individual students and their cultures to capture the attention of a diverse audience.
“I think this concert is more about the culture and the music than anything. I think I need to get out of the way,” Erdman said. “Otherwise, it’s someone looking like me telling people to celebrate a culture, as opposed to someone saying, ‘This is my culture. This is important to me. I want to tell you about it.’”
While introducing the concert, Erdman shared that he hoped the spring concert would not only showcase the students’ hard work but also bring together people of different backgrounds.
“When I was a kid, everyone looked like me and everyone spoke English. That is certainly not the case as we look around here tonight. That, I think, is for the better. Because it is not that way anymore,” Erdman said. “We have so many people with so many experiences and so many stories to tell.”
One Concert Choir II student, junior Corinne Dunham, saw a similar benefit to the immersion concert, as it required people to step outside of their comfort zones and interact more with their community.
“I think the concert theme itself is nice,” Dunham said. “I like it because, to me, it is kind of what choir is about. No matter the language, singing is something that brings people together.”
Mateos sees the students in her choir class connecting through their songs, and looks forward to class periods when she and her classmates work together on Spanish songs.
“It brings me lots of joy, because I’m like, ‘Hey, you guys have the opportunity to learn how to say this and that, learn what this means and (learn) about my culture and a lot of the culture of this school,’” Mateos said. “It makes deeper connections, in a way.”
Mateos introduced Concert Choir I’s final piece, the upbeat love song “Cielito Lindo.” In Spanish, she told the audience how significant it was to dedicate the song to another person.
“‘Cielito Lindo’ is actually very personal to me,” Mateos said. “The version I grew up listening to was the Vicente Fernández version. He was a really big artist in the Hispanic community. I feel like growing up listening to him and hearing that version, and being able to sing it in choir, it’s honorable, in a way.”
After Concert Choir I exited the stage, Concert Choir II filed onto the risers and began a rendition of the Ghanaian folk song “Pete Pete.” The rhyme centers around a young child being called into dinner, a cheerful chorus to begin the set.
The second song the choir performed was Dunham’s favorite, a Tagalog piece called “Paruparong Bukid.” The song caught the audience’s attention with its faster pace and brighter tone while building up to a forte. The bobbing rhythm of the song evokes the song’s subject matter – a butterfly – which the singer tried to embrace.
“I really like feeling the music and not just the words. In some ways, the music behind all of them is kind of universal,” Dunham said. “If you just heard the piano in each of the pieces, you might be able to gauge their different feelings. I try to use those (universal feelings) when I’m singing, as well as the literal meaning that is from the translation.”
In the months leading up to the concert, Erdman focused his performers on embracing the emotional power of music. His classes went over direct translations of each song, and for many pieces, they discussed the way a piece’s complex feelings could be conveyed.
“It’s got a bit of a wholesome message. I can sing a song to you in any language, and you can appreciate it. You might even be able to figure out what it’s about without knowing,” Erdman said. “Even without shared and understood words, we’re able to convey emotions. How cool is that?”
Although music can be powerful in any language, the audience relies on the performers to give each piece the appropriate energy. Mateos is more than happy to oblige. For her, learning songs in foreign languages provides an interesting challenge.
“I actually feel kind of good about it. It’s like: I don’t know what this means, but I’m going to sing it and I’m going to put in the amount of pride the composer wanted me to feel. I’m going to try to put it out there as much as I can,” Mateos said.
Concert Choir II’s final song was “Barso Re,” a Hindi piece hoping for rain. The song was the most complex of the set, with pronunciation as the main challenge. Erdman worked carefully with the singers to ensure they practiced the unfamiliar lyrics without becoming intimidated.
“Because I don’t want my students to overthink it, we’ll do warm ups that have those (unfamiliar) sounds in them. I don’t say anything about it, and they never know that we’re working on it, but it’s already addressed. Especially if there’s something that I know is going to be hard, I try not to talk about it or draw it out,” Erdman said.
The warm ups and weeks of practice paid off – the performance went smoothly and Concert Choir II completed their set to loud cheers. Then, the first choir rejoined the group on stage for a final performance. Mateos retook center stage to introduce “De Colores.” She appreciated the final opportunity to reach out to the audience in an immersive way.
“I think foreign languages bring out such a passion and inclusivity that, sometimes, a lot of people don’t have,” Mateos said. “I feel like, if we keep doing songs that are in different languages, it’s a great way to bring out every language and every culture that you can think of.”
After the choirs completed their performances, the string orchestra set up the stage and began their own songs. The three pieces played were all from different cultures and were also introduced by a student from the respective culture. Dunham believes the continued immersion amplified the message of the choirs.
“I do like having a mixture (of songs in English and other languages), but I think doing them all in different languages for this concert is really nice. It’s unique, and I think it has a powerful message in some ways,” Dunham said.
After the audience’s final cheers, Erdman said goodbye to the audience and left the stage without further comment. The conclusion of the concert was unique for the teacher, who normally ends performances with a quip. The crisp goodbye was a final aspect of the immersion concert meant to spark thought.
“Normally I say, ‘Thanks for coming to the concert. Don’t forget your student!’ or some sort of cheesy thing. This concert is just going to end with the music,” Erdman said. “I’ll just let the music have the final word.”