The Student News Site of Ripon High School

The Smoke Signal

The Student News Site of Ripon High School

The Smoke Signal

The Student News Site of Ripon High School

The Smoke Signal

    Choir Meets For Some Spring Singing

    On the evening of Tuesday May 9, Ripon High’s choir had a concert at Immanuel Christian Reform Church in Ripon.

    The choir director was Adam Serpa and the accompanist was Cynthia Dario-Good. Several groups were present, including the Middle School Choir, The Dreamcatchers, The Tribal Tones (Concert Choir), and two barbershop-style music groups, The Runaway Lilies [sic] and Give Us a Ring.

    The concert was set into motion with a performance by Give Us a Ring of Mark James’s “Hooked on a Feeling,” while the concert choir filed in behind them. The rest of the show went on in this manner to smooth out transitions between songs.

    The setlist was a mixture of folk songs, classical pieces, and a few more modern songs such as “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King and “Hooked on a Feeling” by Mark James. One of the songs was chosen due to its unique backstory.

    “[The Ground] was by a Norwegian composer who’s still alive today,” said Serpa. “It was written as a tribute to nature, in an effort to express gratitude to the Earth. When I listened to it, I just knew that we had to perform it.”

    As the show neared its end, Serpa took time to give thanks to the graduating seniors who participated in choir throughout the years.

    “These people are all really hard workers, and I appreciate them all very much,” said Serpa. “I am sad to see them go.”

    Of the interviewed students, all of them expressed positive opinions of choir.

    “I like choir because it feels like a place where I can fit in,” said Carlee Thommes, a sophomore in the Dreamcatchers. “I already sing a lot at home, y’know, with my family, and so it’s easy for me. Plus, I get to practice more and get better at it.”

    Give Us a Ring, on of the barbershop quartets, is actually managed independently by the students involved.

    “I had the idea and went to Brandon and said ‘we should do a barbershop quartet’ just because I thought it would be fun,” said Justin Bright, a sophomore in Give Us a Ring. “It’s somewhat of a large time investment, there’s a lot of practicing and teamwork involved, but I really love it. Choir is a great community and it brings us all together with the common goal of making music.”

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