Arden Dickson

Going over her music, junior Ellie Moriarity takes notes from a Jan. 25 Jazz Choir rehearsal. Moriarity’s favorite day of the week was Monday because she got to see her friends, Jazz Choir teacher Brian Parrish and make music with them. “My favorite part about Jazz Choir is hearing the final product. I enjoy listening to jazz music, and listening to a song that I am actually a part of is really cool,” Moriarity said.

Practicing from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Mondays, the Jazz Choir continues to rehearse and make recordings, but, as of now, they have no concerts planned due to COVID-19. They recently released a new recording of “It Could Happen To You” by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen, which was recorded and put together virtually. 

After hearing the high school Jazz Choir perform when she was in middle school, junior Ellie Moriarity aspired to try out when she was old enough to participate. Moriarity enrolled in the choir when she began high school to prepare to achieve her dream.

“It was hard to have to stay online to do our recordings, especially knowing how good we would’ve sounded if we were in-person,” Moriarity said. “We were all so disappointed because we were missing out on something that a lot of us had been waiting on since middle school.”

The first time the choir tried rehearsing in-person in November, half the choir was on Zoom while the rest were in-person. 

“Although it ensured safety during the pandemic, we didn’t get the full singing experience we’d hoped for,” junior Bradford Holloman said. “Now, we can finally meet with the entire group. The difference of hearing all of us together is remarkable.”

As soon as the choir gets in the theater, they take their socially distanced seats in the audience. They either set up the sound system if they are using microphones or go straight into warmups and do a soundcheck. 

“I couldn’t have organized this group better myself,” senior Arden Dickson said. “We have all the resources to make the art we’ve been so desperate for and I am grateful for my friends and Mr. Parrish.”

After almost having to drop the class because it is only offered in-person, senior Charlie Creely is happy to be back in rehearsals. He is glad to see everyone he has missed, especially Parrish. 

“Being able to sing together has been the highlight of my year. I’m really thankful we’ve had this awesome opportunity to come back,” Creely said.

After volunteering to edit the “It Could Happen to You” music video for a Zoom meeting with the incoming freshmen the next day, Holloman put out the final product of the video just minutes before the Zoom call. 

“It was a challenge to work under such a time constraint, but I continued working on my impromptu music video until I was satisfied,” Holloman said. “I was very happy with the feedback received, and couldn’t have been more grateful for the opportunity.”