Choir continues to harmonize with one another as new Director Donna Solverud takes over for Mrs. Baird. After a change in positions at the end of last year, former choir director Mrs. Baird became the new principal at Hollenbeck and needed a replacement. Solverud filled the spot, officially joining the FHC Staff as the choir director. With new leadership, the choir program is gearing up for both new and old traditions. 

As the school year progresses, the choir begins to plan their year, already participating in things like singing the National Anthem. They have also taken part in a choir-focused trip called Acappellooza, a day where 500 high school students around the state meet at UMSL and get to work up a piece or two together. While at Acappellooza, students also get to meet some of the college choir students and get to meet other students with a similar vocal range. For choir Secretary Evanna Vrhovac, the event was a great way to expose choir students to different programs.

“We went mostly to get a lot of exposure to different songs, and meet other choir students from the area,” Vrhovac said. 

Unlike years previous, Choir will be performing a fall concert on Oct. 17th in the auditorium. With songs like “Jabberwocky”, a serious song with silly moments, Solverud appreciates the acceptance of things like the fall concert, knowing that traditions are a big part of groups like choir.

“Change is hard but we’re finally getting used to each other and they’ve been very supportive,” Solverud said. 

The program will continue to keep their winter and spring concerts, the winter concert also including a portion of the band program. Solverud is excited about the upcoming concerts and happy to play some of the pieces she’s done previously.

“It’s kind of fun being a choir teacher at a new place because I can pick some of my favorite songs,” Solverud said. 

Aside from new director changes, the Choir program has also faced some falloff due to Covid. When Covid first began, high school students were still able to participate in singing while middle school students were not. Because of this, many middle schoolers dropped the class, not enjoying what they were doing instead of singing. With fewer choir students coming in and more seniors graduating, the numbers have begun to drop. Vice president and senior Matt Tierney shared his concern, but also his hope.

“We’re going to just now start feeling the effects over the next two to three years but then we should start seeing a recovery,” Tierney said.