West Bloomfield Choirs Perform Before Packed Audience

When walking into Tuesday's Pre-Festival Choral Concert at , a sense of excitement could be felt.

While students were dressed in their choral uniforms, parents, teachers, and school administrators were aflutter with chatter expressing their pride for the students of ,  and WBHS.

“Everyone needs to support the arts because music comes from and is for the soul,” said Suzanne Levine, whose son attends WBHS. “It is the one thing that truly unites everyone on this planet. And these students did a phenomenal job of performing before a packed house. We are very excited about the upcoming festival.”

The concert featured performances by all three schools and was sponsored by the Michigan School Vocal Music Association (MSVMA), which sponsors student choral festivals at the district and state levels.

“In order to participate in advanced festivals hosted by the MSVMA, students must qualify at the district level to go on to the state level,” said Linda Trotter, Music and Art Department Chair at West Bloomfield High School. “Under the direction of Sheryl Hauk, our students have been participating at the district level and progressing to the state level, successfully, for the past six years. This is quite an achievement and our district is very proud.”

Jennifer Jolliffe, president of the West Bloomfield High School Choir Boosters, summarized the importance of Tuesday's performance as an opportunity for all students to perform before a panel of judges and be “critiqued by individuals other than their mothers.”

Jolliffe said the best thing about the performance was it allowed students of all three schools to collaborate and “perform together – almost like a reunion.”

Nyteia Tyler, a student at Abbott, said her favorite part about having participated in the collaborative performance was that she “loves to sing,” and that “all three schools worked very hard to prepare for the Pre-Festival Concert.”

Practicing with her chorus provides her with a daily regime of “expressing herself in a positive way," Tyler said.

Pieces from a wide array of musicals and films were featured throughout the concert, and the camaraderie amongst all three schools was apparent after each song, with members of the audience loudly cheering for one another.