Brianna Aguilar

Choir students perform first concert of the year in the auditorium Thursday, Oct. 9. Photo by Brianna Aguilar

Plano West Choir performed their first concert of the year just before fall break, Oct. 9, in the campus auditorium.

Choir director Sarah Council said this concert served as a teaser for the rest of the season for both parents and students.

“We’re working on music for the entire school year, so this was just a preview of several different things that we’re doing this year,” Council said. “In terms of concerts, we’re preparing already for UIL, we are preparing for a concert with our combined choir and orchestra program in January as well as preparing for some concert collaborations we’re doing with orchestra.”

The preparation proved to be worth it according to those who went to the concert.

“I would rate the concert 10 out of 10,” audience member junior Damaris Lugo, said. “I like the way they blended their voices. No voices stuck out, and they did really good harmonies.”

Junior Jessenia Lugo used to be a choir member, but she attended the concert as an audience member, and she said the concert was solid, and there is room for improvement. 

“I would suggest to not use the binders anymore,” she said. “They were using binders, and it wasn’t everybody using binders. They should just either not use binders at all or everybody uses binders together, so that way it looks more like a uniform formal choir.”

For the first concert of the year, Council said it provides a good base for the rest of the year and audiences can look forward to future performances. 

“It was a great first effort of the year,” Council said. “It’s really setting us up for great success for everything else we have planned this year, and I couldn’t be happier with it.”

The song Nox was a favorite among the performed repertoire.

Listen to Plano West’s Choir Perform Nox Here!

“One of them, it was the last song, [Nox], I think that was a really good song,” Damaris Lugo said. “The way it starts soft and ended [with] a large impact, I think that was really good.”

Its appeal is felt even among choir members, who also said it was a favorite among their performances. 

“Either Stardust or Nox,” choir soprano 1 junior Anjali Jagada said.

But according to choir bass junior Max Acevedo, another song stuck out and the song made him think about his family.

“My favorite song that I performed was Look Down, Fair Moon by Walt Whitman,”Acevedo said. “I relate it to my cousin Michel. It almost sounds like it was, in a way, for her. And you can relate to her.”

For some, the songs brought back positive memories about previous choir experiences. 

“Stardust especially just reminds me a lot about Jasper Choir and good memories from in Jasper Choir and I just overall- it just brings me back to Jasper Choir, so that’s Stardust for that,” Jagada said. 

Those interested in joining choir are also encouraged, as membership will provide opportunities to travel to fun locations, make friends and have fun. 

“I just started Plano West Choir, but so far, I really love it,” Jagada. “I just overall really love singing. It’s a really fun time, we learn music, we make friends, and it’s just a class you wanna just join. You also get to leave off campus sometimes for UIL, field trips. We have a Disney field trip, actually, coming up where we’re actually going to Orlando.”

Listen to Some Songs Performed by the Plano West Choir Here!

Credits to Damaris Lugo and Jessenia Lugo for providing videos of the performance.