(Photo by Tyler Chavez)

By Tyler Chavez – News Editor

The Jonathan Law choir hosted the choirs from Harborside, West Shore, East Shore, and Foran High School in a concert on March 20 to celebrate “Music in Our Schools Month.”

Each school performed songs directed by their respective choir teacher.

“Music in Our Schools Month” is a program created by the National Association for Music Education to focus on the importance of music education and to show people that all students should have access to music. Schools across the country engage in multiple activities and concerts to promote music education.

“This is a wonderful way to showcase students’ talent, hard work, rigor and team-work that shines through the beauty of music,” Law choir teacher Ms. Jones said.

The Law choir class prepared for the concert for weeks. Outside of class, they hosted a large rehearsal with the middle schools.

“The rehearsal went super well,” senior Chloe Erickson said. “The middle schools were incredibly well behaved and we were amazed by how good they sounded in our joint choir and how well they followed directions.”

The big draw to these concert was the fact that every Milford middle and high school were represented. Each school’s choir performed a number of songs.

“At first we weren’t going to do the concert because our chorus program at West Shore is small due to the large number of students who take General Music,” chorus and music teacher at West Shore Mr. Kalafus said. “Then I decided let’s do it and be different.”

The Jonathan Law choir performed two songs, including“Bohemian Rhapsody” by legendary rock band Queen.

“My favorite song to perform was ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ because the audience really loved it and the song explores a lot of different styles, which is always fun,” Erickson said. “The sheet music was like 20 pages long.”

There was also a finale song of every participating choir. The Jonathan Law stage was filled with talented singers from all over Milford.

“I think my favorite part of this experience was that we got to interact with everyone and everyone was involved,” freshman Brooke Nabors said. “It was amazing seeing everyone come and sing together.”

The concert had a profound effect on the teachers. They see “Music in Our Schools Month” as a very important cause.

“As I reflect on the concert, I hope the audience leave with a feeling that performing in a music ensemble is something that cannot be replicated or replaced,” Jones said. “Yo-Yo Ma, when speaking about the importance of music, said ‘To me, nothing is more totally engaging in mind, body, spirit, experience, tactile hearing, visual…that’s what the arts do.”

The concert was a positive experience for middle school students to grow in their musical endeavors.

“At first they didn’t believe we could pull it off because we knew the other schools were going to be three times our size,” Kalafus said. “In the end I think they saw that hard work and effort pays off.”

The experience also had an effect on the students. Students both experienced and new to choir gained a strong appreciation for music education and respect for their teachers.

“The music teachers at this school know what they are doing, and the fact that music programs are getting cut is scary, because studies show that music helps students excel in their other classes as well,”  senior JP Amaro said. “Music is something everybody needs in their lives, and music education is one of the most important and engaging forms of education I have ever known.”

The Law choir will start preparations for their spring concert in May. Jones said she is already looking forward to the show.

“Oh…and join Law choir,” Jones said.