Choir has been putting in many hours towards complete consonance for one of the biggest performances the choral program has done yet. On March 22 at 7:30 p.m. the choir will be performing at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in downtown Dallas with the esteemed Dallas Winds and world famous composer Eric Whitacre.

“I don’t think any of us in choir have ever done a performance on this big of a scale before,” senior Francesca Hecker said. “I am very much a fan of the Dallas Winds and Whitacre, so it’s kind of like a fangirl moment for me, since he is such a fantastic composer.”

The executive director of the Dallas Winds, Kim Campbell, invited the Plano West Choir to perform with them for this event. This rare opportunity has resulted in a lot of enthusiasm among the choir community.

“This performance will be nerve wracking for everyone involved because Eric Whitacre is so famous, but it’s also extremely exciting to get this opportunity,” Hecker said. “We were personally asked to do this, so that’s really exciting.”

Whitacre is a Grammy-winning composer, conductor and speaker. As a lead composer of modern music, he is known as the conductor of the Virtual Choir and will be working closely with the choir as they prepare for this performance.

“Whitacre is going to be conducting us during the concert,” junior Cory Shoemaker said. “He composed all of the music we are performing, and we are actually premiering a choral version of one of his instrumental songs.”

Along with the upcoming performance at the Meyerson, the choir has performed with Dr. Z. Randall Stroope and Dr. Eriks Esenvalds at the Baltic Concert in Fort Worth, and performed their winter concert, Wintersong. These events have all added to the choir’s continually successful and busy year.

“We are taking on two different projects at once,” Shoemaker said. “We are taking on our University Interscholastic League (UIL) competition and this performance with Eric Whitacre, so it’s going to require intense practices.”

Practicing for this performance would not be feasible without the Director of Choral Music Kathy L. Hackett and Associate Director Sarah Council.

“The directors are really awesome when it comes to learning the music since it is really difficult to learn,” Co-Choir President Mackenzie Ericson said. “Some people get frustrated easily while practicing but they’re really good at keeping us in check and making it easier for us to learn.”

This opportunity has the power to impact participating choir students by giving them an inside look into the professional world of composing and performing on an expert level.

“I think this opportunity will change me because it will give me such great insight from a world renowned composer,” Hecker said. “It’s interesting to be given advice by someone who has been in this business for many years and who is so well recognized.”

The insight into the professional world of music gained as a result of this is performance will aid certain students such as Ericson in preparing them for a future career in music.

“I’m going to major in music education and want to eventually be a choir director,” Ericson said.  “I think doing this huge event with someone who is so experienced will really help improve my singing, especially with the difficulty of the music. I know it will advance me in the right direction for my career.”

This kind of choir event does not come around very often and choir students are encouraging their peers to come out to support them through this big event, as well as listen to famously composed and thoroughly practiced music.

“Having students come watch at the Meyerson would be really great,” Hecker said. “It’s a really fun experience and no other school around us gets to have this chance. It’s always fun to have support from your fellow Wolves.”