Tennessee trip strikes a chord with many choir students

The band would not stop playing! Another round of the chorus of “Jesus Promised” started, as the audience clapped along to the beat. It was an unplanned seven-minute song that ended with a mosh pit. What a way to finish a concert, with memories that will last a lifetime.

CVHS A Capella and Madrigals went to Tennessee over spring break. They visited many cool places like the Parthenon, the Museum of African American Music, and the Country Music Hall of Fame. They took pictures inside the circle at the Grand Ole Opry and had a choral exchange with the Tennessee State University Meistersingers.

It was a really great experience for the choir to see other performers and hear different types of music. Normally, most of the styles they learn are choral and pop, and getting a well-rounded music education is very important to the CVHS choir experience.

They did a choral clinic with a celebrated composer and teacher Dr. Jeffery Ames. He worked with Acap and Mads on their respective songs and helped them improve their sound. 

During the choral exchange with TSU, CVHS sang for them, and they sang for us. Before the concert, they taught our choir a song.

 “I loved that we got to meet new people from a new choir and that we got to sing with them in a really incredible acoustic space,” said Mairen McNeill, a sophomore in A Cap.

Getting the backstage tour of the Grand Ole Opry was an experience like no other. “I learned a lot about country music and the historical significance it has in America,” said Ash Ahmad, a senior in Mads. 

The choirs were waiting for the bus after the tour, when a tornado warning went off on everyone’s phones. They sheltered from the wind and rain under the awning, but had to wait to be let inside until the Opry could have space for them. They hung out there until the show. It was an insane turn of events, as many choir students had never been in danger from a tornado before. 

In the Opry performance, a lot of people’s favorite was the Riders in the Sky. The band that wrote the music for “Toy Story,” and the guy who only made boomerang jokes.

It was fun when the choirs got to walk around, get food in Nashville, and experience what it felt like to live there. There were a lot of opportunities for shopping, and people got many souvenirs. Line dancing at Category Ten was a lot of fun. Many were taught the dances and then got to dance to different country songs. 

Overall, it was an amazing experience for music and memories like no others. 

“The trip was definitely worth it because Acap got to spend so much time together, and we all became a lot closer,” said Dillon Ta, a junior in A Cap.