2018 Fall Choir Concert

Hello parents, students, alumni, and friends of the Kimberly High School Choirs!

My name is Klaire Kulas and I am the 2018-19 KHS Choir Council President. Welcome to another year of making music! Our first concert of the year, Collage, will be held in the on Tuesday, October 16 at 7:30 pm in the Kimberly High School Auditorium. 

The idea of a collage is not something you would ordinarily pair with choir. When I think of a collage, my mind goes to a page from a middle school scrapbook. But, as I start my senior year of high school and reflect on the last three years of choir, the idea of a collage seems to be the perfect explanation of how a choir should be.

​A collage is a piece of art made by sticking various pieces of a material (like pictures or fabric) together. A choir is made up of individuals uniting their own unique voices to create art. Each piece is vital to the overall work. What makes a collage so beautiful is the individuality of each piece. If each scrap of paper or fabric was exactly the same, we could never experience the rich art that is made. And so it is with a choir, too. Upon reflection, our entire choir program -- all seven choirs -- could be considered a collage. Each choir makes their own unique contributions to every concert cycle. Each choir has its own distinctive sound that compliments the other choirs and ultimately forms who we are -- the Kimberly High School Choirs.

I’ve found that "Let my Love Be Heard", a piece to be performed by Concert Choir, perfectly emulates the idea of creating a collage. This piece poses many challenges for Concert Choir, particularly the dreaded ‘ah’ section. The melody builds with repeated triplet patterns being passed between the alto and soprano sections while the tenors and basses gradually build on the lyrics ‘let my love be heard’. As we were working, Mr. Popke reminded us that it wasn’t a battle between sections, rather collaborative growth. Each part was lovely independently, but the stunning, ethereal feeling that this piece gives can only be achieved when the parts work in harmony. This idea is perfectly applicable to a collage. No one piece of the puzzle can attain the beauty of the full picture.     

As we gather together for our first concert of the year, I look forward to hearing the collage our voices will create -- and how they will grow and change over the coming year. I know what we start with on October 16 will not be the same sound we finish with in June. As we progress as individuals, our collective choir program can only continue to mature. I hope that all of you will have the opportunity to witness this growth! Thank you all for your support and I hope to see you for our first concert: Collage.