With Loyola Academy back fully in-person for the 2021-2022 school year, so is the fine arts department. On October 14, the department put on their fall choir concert, “How Can I Keep From Singing.”

Ms. Metzger, the head choir director, chooses the theme every year. She asserts she chose the theme because, “For so long we have been unable to sing together because singing is a high risk activity. So I chose the theme because everyone was back together.”

The concert featured four different choirs: Concert Choir, Contemporary Vocal Ensemble (CVE), Chorale and Honors Chorale, and Honors Chamber Singers. The choirs are based on ability with Concert being beginner, and Honors Chamber being the most advanced. It took place in the chapel, and both performers and audience members were required to wear masks.

All of the choirs have been preparing for the concert all year. Ms. Metzeger comments that the process of learning music can be complicated. She affirms, “It is said that in order to learn one minute of music, you have to spend an hour on it.”

And from what the audience saw, the practice paid off.

The Concert Choir kicked off the concert, singing four songs total. Concert Choir is the entry level choir and includes all grade levels. The highlight of their performance was the song “El Cielo Canta Alegria“ by composer Roger Bergs, which was performed entirely in Spanish.

The next choir was CVE, who sang three songs composed of “Oh Music, Sweet Music,“ “Ain die Musik,” and “Birdsong.”

Chorale and Honors Chorale, the all-girls choir, also sang three songs: “The Lark Ascending,” “With a Voice of Singing,” and “Sing Me to Heaven.”

Lauren Dziedzic, a senior in this group, says the preparation process helped build a stronger sense of community. She states, “Everyone wants to get everything right, like the rhythms and the pitches, they’re not just singing for fun, we take it as a class and we all want to sing together.”

The final choir to perform was Honors Chamber Singers, the most advanced of the three choirs. They opened their performance with the high energy song, “Tambur.”

The best part of the evening was the closing song, “How Can I Keep From Singing,” which was performed by all of the choirs.

Lili Forowycz, a senior in Honors Chamber Singers, says the group song was her favorite part of the show. She elaborates, “We have not sang as a full choir in such a long time, and it was so nice to hear everyone together.”

Ms. Metzger agrees, arguing, “Coming back and having all the students endure the year they just did, in terms of choir, choosing to come back, and then be able to all stand on the stage and sing was the coolest part.”

Loyola Academy might be known for their sports, but you can also find a real community in choir. Forowycz explains, “We all get along really well. We’re a great group of friends and everyone is super welcoming. It’s also so nice to be able to bond with each other over our passion for music.”

Overall, the Fall Choir Concert was a success that Ms. Metzger thinks students should be proud of. She believes that even if students do not love the outcome they will always improve. She professes, “When we get to the end of the year [the students] look back and think ‘Oh my gosh’ we sound so much different.”

If you want to come out and support the choir, their next concert is the Christmas concert in December, and according to Forowycz it’s their best one.