Hingham High School Hosts its First Talent Expo since 2019

The Mixed Chorus performs “Come Together”

Keely Jordan, Co-Editor-in-Chief
March 20, 2022

On Tuesday, March 14th, the Hingham High School chorus hosted its talent expo. This is the first talent expo that HHS has had in three years since having large musical gatherings during the pandemic was difficult. The expo serves as a sign of returning to normalcy, and a great excuse to brighten up the long winter.

Traditionally, the HHS chorus director, Dr. Young, selects a theme and all music for the concert takes place within the theme. This year, students performed songs by The Beatles. This is the second Beatles-themed talent expo in HHS History, the fun happy music serves as a great relief for many of the HHS chorus members.

The Talent Expo consists of two main sections: chorus performances and special acts. This year, HHS Chorus is divided into three sections, Concert Chorale for freshmen and sophomores, Mixed Chorus for juniors and seniors, and Choral Spectrum, a mixed group of both. The chorus also did two combined numbers based on gender, where the HHS girls chorus sang “Ob La Di Ob La Da” and the HHS boys chorus sang “This Boy”. Choral spectrum performed two songs, while Mixed Chorus and Concert Chorale each did three. All of the performances included solos by various Hingham High School students including junior Cici Monarch, sophomore Charlie Sichol, senior Max Wanty, and freshman Harry Fitzgerald. The concert concluded with a performance of “Penny Lane” sung by both choruses, during which junior Wyatt Bell and freshman Ruby Blake performed two wonderful solos.

As great as the choral performances are, the real draw of the Talent Expo is the special acts. Special acts are individual or group performances done by chorus students. They are selected by the students and are prepared completely independently of Dr. Young. Auditions for special acts were held this year on February 14th. There, students are judged by a group of their peers, and acts are selected based on performance quality. The special acts this year were unique as students from around the whole school could audition for the first time, meaning auditions were not just limited to the members of the HHS chorus. During special acts, students showcased their guitar and piano skills, while Mae Winer and Max Wanty even did a particularly unique performance of “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry Over You” with Max on guitar and voice and Mae playing drums.

Out of the 18 songs performed during the talent expo, senior Max Wanty had the great privilege of performing in 10 of them. In regards to the concert, Wanty states that “It was a lot of fun honestly, I hadn’t performed in a while so it gave me a chance to get back into it and remember what that’s like and it was awesome”.

Junior Catrina Riker performed in her very first talent expo this year. She states that “It was so cool to see fellow members of the chorus program share their talents individually, a change of light from our usual choral arrangements. Singing contemporary music as a chorus also let us liberate ourselves musically from the usual strict music that we usually follow.”

This year’s talent expo was a great chance for the HHS Chorus to return to normalcy and embrace a new era for the HHS chorus.