Over this past weekend Bella Vista’s choir department had their annual dessert concert- this year themed around Disney movies and music. The dessert concert is a yearly winter tradition and also the biggest fundraiser for the choir department. Audience members pay an entry fee, usually more at the door with a discount during preorder. For that fee they get unlimited access to a dessert buffet provided by the choir students and the show itself. The show changes themes regularly, with a general winter/holiday theme being the most common. This year the show revolved around a Disney theme, featuring medleys of songs from The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Mary Poppins, and Beauty and the Beast. As opposed to other concerts performed by the choir, the dessert concert is the one event where the choir operates similarly to a show choir, with many songs accompanied by dances and physical performances. The concert is also great for people looking to sing alone, as opportunities for solos and duets are interspersed throughout. As with every choir concert, both concert choir and madrigals classes perform a few shared songs and a few separate songs.
Unfortunately, the 2021-22 school year saw the loss of a lot of graduating seniors for the choir program. In the wake of new graduation requirements, electives, especially VAPA electives, have been given diminished priority. Many new students might unfortunately be apprehensive about following through with electives nonessential to grad requirements. Although it may be difficult to make space for choir as an elective, it is not impossible. This year sees the graduation of 7 seniors, 3 of which were 4 year participants. The dessert concert is often a very sentimental event for graduating seniors as well, as all seniors get to participate in a shared song as separate from the songs sung by the respective classes.
This year’s concert experienced a great turnout, as a massive number of attendees packed the multipurpose room, even causing a brief delay to the show’s start time.
Any students interested in music and joining the choir program are encouraged to try. The program is always welcoming of students with a good understanding of pitch willing to finetune their musical ability. Audition is required for madrigals, but no audition is required for concert choir. For those not interested in music who are still interested in being involved, every year’s dessert concert requires tech volunteers. Keeping the arts important, even when focus is removed, requires the support of many people.