Since the school’s opening, the choir department has put on an annual spring performance: Encore. In the months leading up to the performance, juniors and seniors form, rehearse and audition groups to be featured.
In Encore’s debut, an opener, a closer, a junior song and a senior song were featured and have remained tradition since then. Choir Director Joshua East said that many students feel anxious to uphold these decades-long traditions.
“[Encore] is something that our students, the school and the community look forward to every year,” East said. “Since the spring of 1998, they did an Encore that included the opener that we still do every single year, same choreo, every single year, unbroken.”
One of these traditions is the senior song, where seniors gather at the stage and sing with a slideshow showing a baby and a current photo of themselves. East said that the senior song is an emotion-filled moment for him, the seniors and their families.
“[Ms. Henning and I] are lucky enough that we get to sit and watch the show, and we’re just bawling,” East said. “For many of those people, we’ve had them for four years, and not a lot of teachers get that experience. We feel really fortunate … It’s very cathartic to see people put things together and have it be a success.”
Unlike other extracurriculars, the choir does not have a designated senior night, however East said Encore functions similarly to a senior night. Senior Kayla lock said Encore highlights seniors and their years of hard work.
Additionally, the seniors’ legacy continues through the juniors. East said that, with a year’s experience under their belts, seniors often organize the groups and teach the juniors the behind the scenes aspects of Encore.
“They will shepherd juniors that show excitement about Encore, and they’ll invite them to join their groups,” East said. ”After the auditions are over, the list gets posted; the juniors then see the preparation pay off.”
As the seniors prepare to pass the torch, East said they still act as a reassurance to the juniors. Junior Oliva Storey said that working with the seniors eased many of her worries,making her more excited to create the show with her friends.
“[My senior friends] have been able to give great advice and be super reassuring during this whole process,” Storey said. “I grew up alongside a lot of them, and many of us grew up going to Encore and waiting for the day when we would perform together, so that feeling of completion feels great.”
