As the lights dim in the auditorium, blue light washes over the stage. Instead of filing onto the risers during the beginning of their show on Friday, Oct. 3, the black and purple-clad MVHS Choir, composed of 48 students, encircles the audience and begins its opening song, “Indodana.”
The piece, which the choir only had six weeks to work on, is written in Xhosa — a South African language — and laments Jesus’ crucifixion. The layered melodies from the choir and rhythmic beat added by percussionist Lu Tesarowski on the djembe create an enveloping effect that allows the audience to feel truly immersed in the music. As the singers raise their hands, mirroring how the song is traditionally performed, the audience is drawn in — a captivating start to a visually and aurally stunning show.
Music director and on-site staff development lead Lofn Young is eager to share their love for choir with students through the traditions and pieces that made them fall in love with the art form. In particular, they’ve sung “Indodana” all over the world, including on the Great Wall of China.
Along with “Indodana,” the choir performed “TaReKiTa,” composed by Reena Esmail, in a unique format, with performers sitting on the risers and keeping the beat by tapping on their laps. Junior Suhani Sharma, who sings soprano in Variations, says these changes contributed to a unique and memorable concert experience.
“With ‘Indodana,’ it’s hard because you’re standing isolated compared to other people,” Sharma said. “I’m two feet away from the person next to me, and it’s so hard because you can only hear yourself, so it’s really nerve-wracking. But I also think that for ‘TaReKiTa,’ we literally just sat and were trying to get the tempo working, and then our teacher told us to tap on our laps, and she decided to keep it because she liked it so much. I think that that was cool, because it was very spontaneous.”
Several songs in the concert lineup revolved around themes of grief and strength. For instance, senior Shiva Chaganti was a solo performer of “MLK,” a song meant to honor Martin Luther King Jr., originally written by U2 in 1984 and arranged for a cappella choirs by Bob Chilcott. The choir also performed “Invictus,” the theme song of the eponymous film about Nelson Mandela’s time in prison, featuring senior Elspeth Luu on cello. The uplifting melodies of the choir were beautifully complemented by the deep, rich sounds of the bass-heavy instrument, while a wash of purple light, gleaming off the performers and the cello, set a tone of reverence throughout the piece.
The choir ended the concert with “Dance in the Graveyards,” a pop song written by Delta Rae and arranged by Justin Harvard. Eleven performers went up individually to sing lines from the warm, crowd-pleasing tune, a piece that emphasizes choosing joy over grief through lyrics like “Oh my love, don’t cry when I’m gone / I will lift you up, the air in your lungs / And when you reach for me, we’ll dance in the darkness.” While Young did notice the theme of grief that ran through the concert, they said it wasn’t intentional. Rather, they chose their favorite pieces, which happen to be ones that emphasize resilience and the communal powers of choral music.
“There are so many studies about how making music together can create a better chemical balance in your body,” Young said. “You have higher incidence of oxytocin and lower incidence of cortisol — all of this really cool stuff that shows how music can bring people together. I think that music can be a source of resilience for us to get through the tough times, which we are in right now. I just love getting to come make music every day, and forget about that for a little while.”
Apart from these, the show included lighter catchy pop songs, including Smash Mouth’s 1999 hit “All Star,” performed by senior Aditi Chamarthy, and “Superpowers” by Daniel Caesar, sung by Sharma and junior Ayana Walia. Choir section leaders performed “Rorando Coeli” and “Ezekiel Saw de Wheel” — two songs they only had a week to prepare, compared to the other pieces’ six weeks. Young explains that they nominated these students to perform these songs at San Jose State University’s annual honor choir on Oct. 11, where students performed alongside the university’s choir.
The concert boasted a diverse collection of pieces — made possible by the nearly 50 powerful vocalists — along with striking displays of color and overall beautiful performance. Despite this, most attendees seemed to be the relatives of Choir members rather than fellow students. However, Young emphasizes the benefits of attending these free performances for other students as well.
“These pieces really just feed the soul,” Young said. “When we’re rehearsing together, I think of us being able to create this beautiful gift that we give each other, and then I see performance as turning that out and giving that same gift to our audience, and really being able to share in that together.”
