Maryville College is back in session for another semester, and that brings the MC Concert Choir back together! We have missed singing with our friends so much since last April!
Rehearsals have started back, and we are enjoying our (new-to-some) original facility: The Choir Room! With COVID social distancing restrictions last year, we could not sing in the choir room and adequately meet social distancing guidelines. We were super fortunate that ALL of our students and faculty are now fully vaccinated, and we are now able to sing with less distance between us and in our lovely choir room.
The Concert Choir recently held the annual Choir Retreat on the 10th and 11th of September! This is an event that the choir looks forward to every year and is one of my favorite traditions that we hold. We participate in group rehearsal, sectional rehearsal, games, family bonding activities, and our infamous Induction Ceremony. We also got to take part in our annual section blending workshop with Mrs. Wilner so that our sections can sound our very best together!! Our freshman, new members, and transfers get inducted into the choir yearly at our Choir Retreat, and our upperclassmen students welcome them in by sharing a short speech of encouraging words and advice for their peers. We end the Induction Ceremony by singing the "Lutkin Benediction" with our candles lit. With some COVID-19 restrictions lifted, this year was indeed one of the most beautiful and connecting ceremonies I have ever been a part of. In the month or so that we have been in this semester, I can already tell that this group is so connected spiritually and emotionally; the music we have made so far is beautiful. (Pictured below: Elizabeth Shwaiko '25, Elizabeth Brenneise '23, Emma Holmes '25, Izzy Wright '25, Gavin Lester '24, Abby Robertson '21, Elisabeth Jackson '22, and Brianna Marcopolus '24)
Saturday morning, we all gathered with our sections at the early time of 8:15 am to eat breakfast together! Just look at all of those smiling faces! Pictured in order: Sopranos, Altos, Tenors, and Basses.
We asked some of the members what their favorite part of breakfast was, and here is what they said!
Altos said, "Appie Juice" (apple juice), and Basses said the bagels were their favorite part!
After our sectional breakfast, we ventured on our own to record our sectional videos! These are fun videos to introduce our sections and are a super fun bonding experience. Check out our social media pages to see these funny videos!
Once we filmed and had a snack break, we gathered back together to do some sight-reading with our accompanist, Chase Hatmaker, and talk about healthy singing with Mrs. Wilner! Once we finished these mini-workshops, we rehearsed some of our repertoire for this year! We gathered with our choir families to complete our retreat and rehearsed the Lutkin Benediction for our Lutkin Sing-Off!
We had such a fun time during the retreat, and we can't wait to see what the rest of the year brings!
Glad to have you back