Marian Catholic Holds First In Person Choir Concert

It was the first time this school year that the Marian Catholic Choirs came together to sing in person.

Family members were able to watch their teens sing songs such as You Learn, You Say and more. Directing the students in song this year is Alison Powell, the new choir director at Marian Catholic high school. She talks about her first year at Marian Catholic.

“This year was humbling” said Powell. “Transitions during a transition time in human history can be difficult, but the students at Marian showed me through their character and commitment to excellence that if you put your mind to something, in this case music making--nothing will stop you. Not the pandemic, not the masks, not hybrid learning, we all came together old and new, to make music and we did.”

The Spartan Choir opened the concert with “Free Amen” featuring a solo by Bethany Peoples.

Songs sung at the concert were chosen by the choir students and Director Powell. “I ask them what they like to sing and I shared my vision for the choirs, then we make it happen” said Powell. “This concert was specific to songs that mean something to us. Many of them had a spiritual component and that inspired us to choose further songs that allowed freedom of expression, both of the voice and person.”

With COVID, choir members sang through face masks as they have all year.

“The masks made it a challenge to get to used to singing with something covering your mouth” Powell explains. “So much about choir is vowel shape, breath support, and facial expressions. We had to overcompensate with projecting the sound, training and sustaining the breath.”

It was the final concert for the seniors. Each of the seniors were presented with a yellow rose and introduced to the audience. Seniors that were honored were: Cassidy Cassanova, Rebekah Crane, Connor Hamilton, Ruth Hansen, Alma Herrera, Paige Manning, Janice Melillo and Naaman Reed.

Choir President is Paige Manning and Vice President is Connor Hamilton

One song the choir worked on all year was an audience favorite.

'The Blessing' was a song we worked on year-long” said Powell. “We had hoped for an opportunity to share it live with our loved ones, and we were blessed to do so. It's all about the many blessings we are given in our lives and the blessing of others, the ones we surround ourselves with and the hope for a better, more blessed world. It was incredibly powerful to hear all the voices sing this together, so passionately. They believed in this song and it's message” added Powell.

The new accompanist, Mr. Stephen LaFlora provided the music for the concert. Choir director Powell said he has been a joy to work with. “Mr. Stephen La Flora our accompanist was an incredible blessing. An incredibly accomplished pianist and a wonderful and inspiring human being, he helped us make this happen and brought the music to life” she added.

The seniors have one more song to sing. “Home” was sung to them as freshman, the choir will sing it at their graduation on May 17th. Alison Powell, along with the students were up to the challenge to make their music work.

“Watching these students overcome obstacles placed on them and witnessing them rise to the occasion has been so rewarding” said Powell. “They overcame their disappointments, their fears, their frustrations and maintained their positive attitude and hopeful perspective of the future.”

For information on Marian Catholic high school, call 708-755-7565.