On the Tuesday before break, the HHS Concert Chorale traveled to the Hingham Town Hall, the four Hingham elementary schools and Hingham Middle School to spread holiday cheer and influence students into joining chorus when they reach middle school.
Their repertoire included timeless classics like “Silent Night,” “Chanukah, O Chanukah,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and “Carol of the Bells” alongside cheery songs like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Jingle Bells.” When the chorus was split into voice parts including soprano, alto, bass and, occasionally tenor, their voices blended into a melodic harmony.
The field trip included a mix of all grades, with people not attending only due to tests that would be a struggle to make up before the break. Two members of the chorus who have been singing for quite a while with a passion are the junior Breanna Weiss and sophormore Spencer Farish.
When asked about the goals of the trip, Breanna said, “I think the field trip not only spread awareness of the high school chorus program but it also provided a sense of community within the schools. I loved seeing the smiling faces of all the kids singing and was reminded of part of the reason I love chorus.”
Breanna’s feelings explain the uplifting nature of many choirs alike and how they arrange activities like singing at schools and nursing homes to bring people together through the universal language of music. This togetherness is a crucial reason why people not only join, but stay with chorus anywhere from elementary school to college and beyond.
Spencer explains, “We went caroling not only to spread joy throughout our school community, but also to show younger students the joy that they can bring to others in the future. Spending the day going between the schools is so enriching because we get to see the smiles of pure joy on the faces of younger students. If we can inspire even just one student to sing or brighten their day a little more than when they entered the building that morning, it’s all worth it.”
Looking into the crowd of smiling faces reminded many participants of the reason why they went on the field trip and how much happiness taking time to sing a few minutes of song can bring people. This tradition is hoped to continue for many years to come and the positive reactions of both the students and teachers mostly confirmed the hope that the chorus will be invited back.
Spencer also quoted the well-known Christmas movie Elf when he stated, “As Buddy the Elf once said, ‘the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear,’ and that is exactly what we did.”
The confident and proud choir projected their voices throughout auditoriums, hallways and lobbies in hopes of bringing cheer to anyone around to hear and, stated in an earlier quote, the people of the chorus feel fulfilled if they make anyone’s day better or excited about joining chorus, even if it is only one student.
Most of the people in Hingham High School Chorus genuinely enjoy singing which is different from middle school, where students were and are embarrassed to sing because some uninterested children took the class only as a mandatory musical elective. In high school, the chorus is an accepting and creative space which invites people to further their music education and improve their singing abilities with immense support from their peers.
