Junior Riley Witherbee walks down the stairs and through the same hallway at FHN twice a day. She goes past the health room, without hesitation walks past the band room and stops right before she can hear the chatter from the drama room. She makes her way through the doors of room 58 and is immediately greeted with the laughter and hard work that fills the choir room.
Riley’s biggest goal for her junior year was to make at least one of FHN’s chamber choirs, Knightsound or Bella Voce. However, a chamber choir isn’t your average fine arts credit. It is an honors level choir that requires lots of hard work and dedication from the students. Every single one of them is expected to spend time at home listening to rehearsal tracks made and practice their music so they are well prepared for the next day in class, where they do the “polishing” work.
“You need to be able to sing your part in front of the class and know you’re right,” Co-president Jared Strickland said. “You need to be able to lead your section if needed. You need to practice hard and focus harder, and you need to be kind to each other.”
Jan. 2018 the choir students prepared a brief solo that they performed for director Jennifer Crane, which would decide their placement for the following school year. Riley was enrolled in treble choir at the time – an all girls, more intermediate choir. During her two years in treble choir, Riley’s love for music expanded and she became much stronger in her music. Riley was hopeful her audition would show she was ready to take on a higher level.
“I always looked up to these people so it was just something I wanted to achieve,” Riley said. “Choir is my life, it was just something that came natural to me. I just wanted to do it. It was just a big goal. A big, big goal.”
Just in time for students to submit their schedules, the choir placement lists went live online. Riley was on a FaceTime call that day when she found out. She went numb as soon as she realized she had not only made Knightsound, her dream, but also Bella Voce. A girl who had never been exposed to the chamber choir scene was now placed in two for her first year.
“I was excited and very proud,” Riley’s mom, Shelby Witherbee said. “She worked very hard to get into there and she was successful, so yeah I was very excited, and excited she was excited.”
For the most part, Riley has had an easy transition into this school year. She’s had a lot on her plate between the choirs and her other hobbies, including publications and lacrosse later in the spring. Other than time management and adjusting to the pace of the choirs, Riley biggest struggle was getting to know all the new faces.
“Everyone was already friends so I had to fit into that choir and fit in with them as people, which is getting better,” Riley said.
The 2018-2019 school year for the choir program is jam packed with many exciting dates that show just how hard the students work to prepare music. From performing with the St. Charles Youth Orchestra at Lindenwood University in December, to performing at Carnegie Hall in New York, the students have lots to prepare for, including Riley.
“I really look forward to all the performances, they’re all just very exciting,” Riley said. “I’m looking forward to New York, but that’s because it’s my dream trip.”
This experience has reassured Riley that she wants to be a choir director when she’s older. Achieving her goal, double what she planned on, has changed Riley as a person and a performer.
“I feel like I have more self confidence because I’m able to say I made this and I worked hard for it,” Riley said. “So I guess it’s really just telling myself that I can do something and make it.”
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