Tunes for hire

Frances Vanderploeg

From left, Michelle Johnson, senior, Carissa Alicea, sophomore, and Michelle Tress, senior, practice during choir class Aug. 29. Choir Director Darrell Crowther places each of the students in order according to their voice.

By Frances Vanderploeg (contact)

Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008 | midnight

Anyone looking for entertainment for a special event has a new option available: the Coronado High School madrigal choir.

The choir has been around for years, but choir director Darrell Crowther said it was necessary to start doing fundraisers to help with expenses, and advertising “Hire the Choir” seemed like a good place to start.

“I think it’s the best fundraiser, because there’s no expense on our part,” Crowther said.

The madrigals have done caroling before, he said, but never advertised the service. Anyone who called requesting the group heard about it through word of mouth or just made a random phone call, knowing high schools have choir groups, he said.

Several of the leadership students said they were excited about the upcoming season, when they have the biggest opportunity to perform for the public.

“There’s something about music that brings people together,” Julian Cruz, 16, said.

Though the choir can be available for many events, including weddings and Valentine’s Day singing grams, they get their biggest vocal workout by performing Christmas carols at local malls, corporate parties and hospitals.

Nick King, 15, said one of his favorite performances was during caroling in recent years, when children started singing along with the group in the middle of a set.

“Seeing the kids’ faces is what makes it worth your time,” he said.

Not all of the performances are pleasant, of course, but the students find humor even in the awkward moments. One time, they had to perform at a golf club, which would have been fine except that they were in the middle of everything.

“We felt like we were completely in the way,” one said, laughing.

These performances provide madrigals with most of their experience, but they also attend festivals and competitions that allow them to see how they stack up. At last year’s district festival, the group received all superior rankings, Crowther said.

“We work so hard,” Michelle Johnson, 17, said. “It’s just powerful to be part of it.”

Tyler Tingy, 16, said after a while, once they’ve really learned the songs and the stories behind them, it can feel like each song transcends the performance.

“It just becomes emotion,” he said.

Crowther said so far the choir is advertising just on the choir’s Web site, but it has a new student leadership position, called marketing director, which will get the students more involved in marketing the choir to the public and raising funds. The choir requests a minimum of $250 per hour for performances.

Despite how the fundraiser turns out, the students said being a part of the choir is a positive thing. If nothing else, they are recorded at the beginning of the school year and will have an opportunity to listen to themselves at the end. Doing so helps them realize how far they’ve come each year.

“You realize you made a journey,” Janay Bombino, 17, said.

Frances Vanderploeg is a reporter for the Home News. She can be reached at 990-2660 or frances.vanderploeg@hbcpub.com.