Chorus is a class that not many know about here at Osbourn High School. There have been a lot of achievements that they have done but don’t get that much acknowledgement. Our chorus is run by our director, Ms.Glomb. She has been the director for not that long. “I have been working at OHS for about  2 years now,” said Ms.Glomb. But she has gotten the chorus to achieve their highest potential in the past few years. When asked why she started teaching choir, she responded, “ When I was in high school, I was in the chorus and I loved it. I wanted to teach it and show people that there is more to chorus than you think,” said Ms. Glomb.  Teaching chorus is not an easy job; there are many difficulties, such as helping advanced students while keeping up with the intermediate classes. “It’s really all about time and knowing how to handle your time when teaching to different groups of multi-level singing,” said Ms. Glomb.  

Josselyn Mendoza, a freshman, has been singing in the school chorus for four years now and is in her first year being a part of the OHS chorus. Julie Reyes has been singing since third grade, so that is six years, and it’s her first year being a part of the OHS chorus department. Nicole Gomez, a freshman, has also sung for 6 years in total, and it’s also her first year being a part of the OHS chorus program.

Chorus is not just fun, but it’s a class where you can be yourself and express yourself. The chorus has several performances throughout the school year, such as the fall, winter, and spring concerts. They also have all city and assessment performances and any other performances throughout the year. I asked some of the students in the chorus how assessment went for them. Julie Reyes, another freshman, added that assessment was definitely a very tough season and required a lot of personal practice along with just putting a lot of your time into rehearsals, especially after school. The day of though was for sure not very nerve racking since we all knew what we were capable of and knew we were well prepared, which I think led to us doing as well as we did. Genesis Martinez, a freshman, said she was in chorus in sixth grade but didn’t join in for her seventh and eighth and it’s her first year being a part of the OHS program.  

Chorus has lots of trips and competitions during the school year. Wonder what they are? Julie Reyes said that this year, they went to two musicals in DC, and those were counted as their trips. Only the advanced choirs go to actual competitions she believes but some intermediate and freshman students go to assessment which is basically counted as a competition and Genesis Martinez added “there are lots of trips during the school year there was musicals including The Six Wives, & Juliet, and MJ and that the advanced choir went to different schools to perform and that there was New York trip too and also have all city and assessment.

The chorus recently went to assessment which is a yearly test to show what they have learned and improved as a whole class and choir together, many students that are part of the choir has described it like their SOL for chorus “We went to assignment which is our SOL and we got a really good grade, so I feel really good” said Valeria Nunez when asked how she felt about their last performance, although the students that go to assessment are chosen they go to represent all of the choir,  “Me and my choir went to our assignments which is our SOLs for that class and I came back proud of what we did and how much process my students have made,”  expressed Ms. Glomb about how she viewed the results of their assessment.   

 Being part of the chorus might not seem like a big deal, but being part of a class that you get to practice your skills and improve them everyday can help a lot,  “I have learn how to multi task and I learned a lot more new things about music that I didn’t know” said Mackensi Hernadez when asked how being part of the chorus help you developed as a singer.  Being in the chorus for years doesn’t mean that it’s for you or that your a better singer than the rest, “ I’ve been in the chorus for about 3 years now but I would like to try out a new class next year although I liked chorus so i would recommend it” said Pamela Quiroz as for Mackensi Hernandez she said “ This is my first year in the chorus and I really like it, “I do see myself in the chorus in the future because I do enjoy singing, especially with my friends”. 

The chorus works really hard on their music so they can show off their excellent performance and practice a lot, even have rehearsals, and there are expectations for chorus performance and rehearsals. Julie Reyes said, “During rehearsals, we’re expected to do as we are told and do it quickly. We shouldn’t talk when other groups are performing or when an adult is talking.” Jossylen said, “The expectations are we listen while the teacher is talking and follow directions when given.”

Different people join the chorus for different reasons, some for fun, or to learn how to sing, or because they thought it was an easy class, but the truth is that it takes a lot of energy and effort to memorize multiple songs and dances.  “I used to come to chorus activities when I was in middle school and I saw how the people in the chorus were and decided I wanted to be a part of it,” said Pamela Quiorz about why she joined the chorus, “Getting to try new genres and doing something that’s fun” said Valeria Nunez when asked the same question. 

For someone who might have never been in chorus but was thinking about joining, I asked what advice and personalities they were looking for, and Josselyn Mendoza said never be scared to be yourself in that class, and do not be shy to stand out and look for sweet, crazy, energetic personalities. Nicole Gomez says, “Generally, the choir program looks for people who can be naturally outgoing and bubbly, and if you’re good at being cheerful and silly too, then this choir program is for you.”

Now, after reading this article, would you want to join the chorus program and why? Tell us in the comments!