Niles West hosted its annual Jr. High Choir Day on Monday, Jan. 29. Students from Lincoln Jr., Lincoln Hall, Culver, Fairview and Park View middle schools came mid-day to shadow Niles West Choir throughout the day. On Monday night, students from the middle schools, the West choir and the Acapella groups performed together in the auditorium.

This is something that West has had in the past, but for choir instructor Justin de la Cruz, it’s his first. De la Cruz explains the main purpose of this day for the students who are interested in continuing choir.

“Traditionally, this is a day that the choir teachers have always done. The choir program that we have here is the next step from the choirs that exist in middle schools. So, the purpose of the day is to give middle schoolers a glimpse of a day in the life of a choir student at West. This helps the students get excited about joining the choir, making them want to sign up for the class,” De la Cruz said.

During the day, students from the middle schools got to work with the Niles West choir, improving on their technique. The students broke into sectional rooms with their designated groups. For instance, the sopranos worked together, helping each other along the way.

As the night rolled around, families and students piled into the auditorium. To start the night off, the acapella groups performed first, followed by a solo from senior Vaughn Holleran. Holleran sang two solos, the first being “Killing Me Softly,” by Roberta Flack. The second solo was an opera titled “Chanson Triste,” by Henri Duparc. Shortly after that, all of the West choirs performed along with the middle schoolers in their grand finale.

Sophomore Sarah Van Hees, who is a part of Niles West’s master singers choir and the Acapella group Resolve, talks about how the day went overall.

“The whole day in general went very well. We were ahead of schedule the whole time, and the kids weren’t difficult. I could tell they were having a lot of fun, and everyone did a great job of engaging and inspiring the kids. They truly seemed more interested in choir by the end of the day,” Van Hees said.

Holleran is also a part of Niles West’s master singers choir and the acapella group Resolve. As this will be her last year at West, she hopes this tradition continues.

“I love being involved in choir and I’m glad we can have opportunities like this. For following years, we need to continue the energy we had on that day, building up the program and making sure students want to come and be involved in choir,” Holleran said.