The chamber singers sang for their final time for this school year on April 6 at the Christ United Methodist Church.

    “Seeing the kids grow from where they first started, seeing them today, seeing that progression is my favorite memory,” Director Derrick Brookins said.  

    The concert featured three madrigal pieces, along with five Hebrew love songs. Throughout the school year, the choral department put on many concerts, not just around town, but also on their trip to Minneapolis. Brookins said how those kinds of memories will make him miss this group of kids, but he hopes to invigorate them for the future.

    “When somebody is close to you and they walk away, it is a little sad, but you encourage them to move forward,” Brookins said.

    Senior Christine McCarty started singing when she was in sixth grade and has been singing ever since. The goal was to leave a mark on her high school singing career and that is exactly what happened.

    “Since it went so well, I feel a lot of peace about ending on such a good note,” McCarty said.

    She said her love for singing is not just based on talent, but it also goes into how she wants to make the audience think deeply and explore their feelings.

    “I love singing because it is an opportunity to touch other hearts and bring an emotion to them,” McCarty said.

    However, it was not all about singing in concerts or making the audience feel any emotion. Instead, it was about making a difference to the community and warming up hearts during the season of spirit.

    “My favorite memory of the year was going caroling,” McCarty said. “Going caroling was super fun because we got to go to a lot of cool venues and got to share carols and holiday spirit with people.”

    Just like McCarty, senior Hunter Oliver can relate to starting choir in sixth grade when it was required that every sixth grader would choose between band, choir, and orchestra. Yet little did Oliver know at the time that the required elective would soon to be a decision that would change his life.

    “I was honestly in it because I had to be at first, but with the opportunities I was given for solos and groups through that, I fell in love with it,” Oliver said.

    Oliver has been involved in numerous activities throughout life, however, he said that singing has and will always be a gift.  

    “Singing is different than just about everything else I have ever done,” Oliver said. “I love singing because to me the words mean so much, and when you put that belief with music, the possibilities are endless.”

    According to Oliver, the choir experienced many joyful moments throughout his time this year. The trip to Minneapolis was something unforgettable and it featured his personal favorite piece of the year which was “I Want Jesus To Walk With Me.”

    Oliver said he wanted to make a mark on the music they put together instead of each of his fellow choir members alone.

    “It is not important that they remember who we are individually, but who were as a group,” Oliver said. “To me, I hope we can inspire a future group to perform their best every chance they get so that they may be fortunate enough to have the phenomenal experiences that I have had.