Annual Pops concert “Karaoke Jamz” is a success

Lights and music flood the stage as the next song prepares to start. Students wait excitedly in the wings for their performance. On April 11-13, the CVHS Choir program performed its annual Pops concert. The theme this year was “Karaoke Jamz.” Managed by 11 student directors, each song had its own rehearsal, and whether it was in class or after-school, everyone worked hard to bring the show to life. Students favorites included “Suit and Tie,”  “Fast Car,” “Yes And?” and many more. Filled with music and excitement, performers were eager to share their thoughts.

“There’s a lot of good people running the show and there’s a lot of good ideas, but not all of the ideas get put into the show,” said sophomore Kaden Shih, when asked about what challenges that were come across during the show.

Others also mentioned that time management was also a huge factor in running a show. “Finding time in my schedule to do the rehearsals and be at the shows is important,” said junior Austin Chan. 

“I’d say the main challenge is just trying to fit all the after-school rehearsals,” said senior Aiden Blalock. “You have to get in [the song], which is already a competition with other people, but after that, you have to make the obligation to show up every day,” he explained. “We’re not there every day, but we do the work, do the dedication for hours, and just keep rehearsing and rehearsing it every after-school rehearsal.”

 Pops director Carmina Quebral and Bidi Bidi Bom Bom singer Arianna Rosillo Rivera mentioned the idea of quick changes as well. 

“Quick changes are when you’re in one act and you have to be in a completely different costume in the next act. Basically, you just change in the stage wings and sometimes have people help you if it’s really complicated,” explained Rivera. “You just put your clothes in there, you leave on one side [of the stage], change, and then boom, you’re in the next song.”

Wearing multiple layers can prove to be essential when moving quickly to the next number.

“For the senior song, I have this white shirt under for my next song, and my current song has a bigger shirt, so I just put it over,” said Quebral.

Rivera had her own challenges as well. 

“The only thing that really stressed me out was my own song,” laughed Rivera. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to hit those iconic high notes but I did it.”

Overall, all the hard work is ultimately worth it when putting together an exciting show.

“The amount of time you put into Pops is nice when it all pays off,” said Blalock. “You’re really happy when the effort you’ve put in has been fulfilling, otherwise you regret not putting in more effort.”

“Pops is really fun but also really tiring,” said Quebral. “But at the end of the day, it pays off and you have a lot of fun.”

“If you’re thinking about doing Pops and choir I heavily recommend it,” said Blalock. “There’s nothing like it at school, nothing else compares to this.”