This week, Ayala High School’s choir department just hosted their first concert of the year on Wednesday, October 5, 2022. Tickets were free and all were invited to come. Family, friends, and loved ones arrived one after another to share this proud moment with their students; filling up the entire auditorium long before the performance began. 

Families and friends waved and cheered in the crowd as the singers began to walk up the stage and onto their positions. Mr. Davis (the Choir Director) stands in the center, his hands slowly raising into the air. All chattering stopped, the room silenced, eyes focused onto the stage. And when his arm drops, the entire auditorium is filled with the euphonious voices of the singers, embedded with the rich notes of the piano and steady beats of the drum.

One after another, the audiences reveal their impressed reactions to the expertise and capability of Ayala High School’s choir department.

After the breath-taking performance from the Concert Choirs, Chaparral Middle School’s Chamber Choir was next in line and performed three different amazing choral pieces, with a mix of classical and religious songs. Their performance was stunning but the singers seemed slightly nervous. 

As the Chamber Choir slowly made their departure, Ayala’s Mixed Choir group began to make their way onto the stage. They were the largest group compared to the others, mainly starring first-time singers who are new to choir. Two classes, the 5th and 6th period, were combined for the first time and despite having no singing experience, gave the audience a majestic performance. 

“I think it was the best experience. All the choirs have really opened my eyes. And I really enjoy choir now. [I think] it’s something I really want to get invested in all of a sudden. It’s really nice,” said Alissa Arroyo (12), a first-time student in choir. 

Up next is the Vocal Jazz Ensemble of Ayala, consisting of a smaller sized group, they performed an older, more classical song, a melodiously romantic love ballad, “And So It Goes.” The group did a spectacular job of creating a lovely romantic mood; their voices echoed through the room and into the hearts of the audience. 

Coming immediately after a short intermission was Ayala’s Men’s Ensemble. The three songs they performed were, “We’re The Men,” “Deo Dicamus Gratias,” and “Connected.” The gentlemen’s deep, harmonic voices sang the notes in such synchronization that it seems too perfect to describe. Their contemporaneous snaps and calming voice seems to bring you into the vigorous youth of a boy, taking you along and witnessing their growth as a man. Their consistent, steady rhythm combined with their masculine voices calms your mind as your heartbeat slowly aligns with their beat. 

Following behind the Men’s Ensemble, Ayala’s Women’s Ensemble were the next leading lights on stage. Like the Men’s Ensemble, they also performed three songs: “Day of Fire and Sun,” “Tabula Rasa,” and “El Vito.” Their voices were like those of a siren, filled with beauty and elegance, along with a touch of boldness. Their voices were soft yet confident, bright yet deep, each had a significant role in what together makes the performance furnished with glamor. 

“I think we did really great. I was really excited when I was singing, [it was] really awesome. I think I can calm myself down next time and that will be [perfect],” said Xenia Chen (11) a member of the Women’s Ensemble, “I feel like music is my life. I just love to sing.”

Finally, the Vocal Ensemble performed the remaining songs of the day. Not humble enough to say, the best group tonight. The final three songs that they bring tonight, each brimming with complex emotions, ends Ayala High School’s choir department’s first concert of the year. With songs like “Hentakan Jiwa” that were able to uplift the entire room with their beguiling dance movements of the Malay tradition, “Let My Love Be Heard” that teared up the audience with their divine voices as we mourned for the loved ones who have passed away, and “Great God Almighty” that brought hope back into the room as the concert came to an end, Ayala High School’s Choir leaves the audience in a state of satisfaction.

“I think everybody did a great job,” says Mr. Davis, “[I am] really proud of their singing, [but] I’m most proud of their determination. What we do is really hard. And they do an excellent job of pushing through [and] making sure that they continue to maintain that level of excellence.”

Students are now walking off the stage, going into the embrace of their proud parents, laughing in joy as they join their friends, and giving the brightest smile as they take their pictures. At that moment, ‘congratulations’ was said in every corner of the room. The room was filled with chatter, it was quite a mess, but we know it was a happy mess.