The students in the Heritage High School Choir love the experience they get day-to-day.
“Because we attend such a small school and have such a small choir, we get individual attention and individual help, and I think that makes us all stronger,” Senior Sage Lundquist said.
Under the direction of Justin Lee, Heritage choral students believe that they not only become better singers individually, but also collectively.
Part of Lee’s plan to give his students opportunities to become better musicians is to provide opportunities for them outside of his instruction.
When he presented Parkland College’s first Music Festival to his class, the students knew that they were going to have an opportunity they would not regret.
Heritage took 15 students to the Parkland College High School Choral Festival on Feb. 1.
The day did not begin as planned, though. Shortly after the students entered the building, they had to evacuate because the fire alarm went off.
The four-hour program where students warmed up, practiced with their section, and then collectively, was cut down to about two-and-a-half hours of practice time once students returned to the stage.
Led by Parkland’s Franklin Gallo, students for 17 area schools, perfected three songs before performing for guests at 5:30 p.m.
“(Gallo) was very funny and personable, but he was also obviously extremely skilled and effective,” Lundquist said. “Not many directors could have pulled off what he pulled off in that short amount of time.”
Freshmen Madeline Thompson enjoyed how Gallo tried to make the students laugh.
“It was really neat the way he connected with us,” she said.
Freshmen Tristan Sands was impressed with Gallo’s skills and technique.
“He’s really good at using his falsetto, so he’s really good at singing all of the parts.” Sands said. “He’d try to help out the sopranos, and he’d actually get his voice up to a soprano range and sing.”
With an engaged student body, the students realize the experience was more than just singing at another performance.
“Every music director has a different technique that they use. It’s really fun to learn a bunch of different ways to do the same thing,” Thompson said.
“The small choir format that we have here is great for a lot of reasons, but I do really love having the opportunity to sing in a much larger choir,” Lundquist added. “It’s definitely a different feeling. It’s a lot more powerful. And it’s an experience that I’m glad to have.
“It also pushes us to be better musicians. All these new people that we’ve never worked with before, it helps us to become better.”
For Lundquist, Thompson, Sands and Freshmen Sam Gilbert, singing has been a passion for quite some time.
Lundquist grew up in a family of musicians who just like to sing and play instruments. Gilbert said he remembers feeling happy while singing with his mom in the car. He was encouraged to join choir by his grandma who was always impressed with his voice during church services.
Sands, who moved to the Heritage School District as a sixth-grade student, was inspired to sing by his elementary school music teacher who gave him opportunities to shine through solos.
But for Thompson, who has “been singing before (she) could walk,” Parkland’s High School Choral Festival helped her realize something she hadn’t before.
“I’ve always loved singing, but it never really clicked until Friday night,” she said. “On Friday night, my mom told me that I looked extremely happy and it made her cry. She felt like this was my thing.”
Other Heritage students who participated in the event:
Cheyenne Bear
Maryrose Dodd
Jacob Dohme
Kailee Eldridge
Samuel Gilbert
Mikaylah Likeric
Sage Lundquist
Emily Markstahler
Brodie Meneely
Misty Robinson
Allison Ruwe
Tristan Sands
Trinity Tatman
Madeline Thompson
Cole White
