When one first walks into the choir room, the sounds of busy students getting folders, organizing sheets of music and talking with friends fills one’s ears. But once the noises calm and when the halls of the school are silent, a symphony of voices are heard warming up for the day. From low to high, notes float out the door greeting the ears of passerbyers. Then the silence returns for a moment before it comes back, organized and more delicate than before. The music has finally commenced.
Over the last year, choir director Sierra Pabon has worked on implementing new customs and improving the various programs offered at Revere. Pabon has set up new systems and created a much larger student network that is in charge of the choir, allowing for students to find more of a place in the choir.
A new hire last year, Pabon’s goal the past year was to get used to everyone and allow everyone to get used to her. But now after eight months of working with Revere students, she feels prepared and organized going into the new year.
“I would say there were a lot of things last year that I had to do to get to know everyone at a different level and how things ran first. I think these things are figured out so we already have the advantage of picking up where we left off in a lot of ways. Other than that, I’d say we have very much expanded our leadership team and their responsibilities,” Pabon said.
Delegation of leadership was one of Pabons biggest achievements going into the 2023-2024 school year. Utilizing the skills of different students, Pabon has created four different leadership teams that work together to make the choir community a more collaborative, invested and promoted group. Her four leadership teams are headed by members of the Revere Chorale, the school’s higher level audition choir, and each play to the different strengths of students in the program.
For Pabon, another important aspect of choir is making sure students are connected throughout the many programs the school offers. Sage Owens is the symphonic choir representative, the standard level Revere choir, and her responsibilities are to make sure students in the symphonic choir have the same opportunities as those in chorale. In addition, she brainstorms ideas to bring the program together and build a more connected feeling throughout the community.
Building leadership platforms for students to grow towards is important to Pabon because she finds the experience to be both engaging and interesting for students, and a chance to become invested in the many smaller aspects of the choir. Not only does the system allow for more individualized tasks, but it breaks down students’ understanding of the many small details needed to make the program grow and flourish. Additionally, it allows for Pabon to lessen her workload and focus more on the musical and administrative aspects of the job.
“This job is unlike some other content areas. This job is both teaching and directing and the administrative side of things. There are a lot of responsibilities that fall under my job description, so the better I can delegate things to people’s strengths the more ownership they feel over what they are doing and the less work eventually that will fall on me. . . . It gives them the opportunities to experience real life things that they could do in this position. There is kind of a place for everyone with this system,” Pabon said.
Looking into the future, Pabon has many ideas for improving the choir this year after building a strong foundation throughout the last. Especially concerning the acapella program, Pabon feels that she took many strides to improve student experience, engagement and performance. An acapella group is composed of students that produce music with only their voices, no background tracks or instrumental.
“In terms of just academic rigor we worked really hard last year to get our literacy skills going but it was kind of like catch up. This year we are already in a better place than we were because we did the process last year. We’ve completely revamped the Revere acapella, just the way that they function [and] that’s kind of been . . . an improvement in the sense that . . . we are kind of moving in a new direction to provide some new opportunities for them,” Pabon said.
Acapella is very different from other forms of music because of the vulnerability and precision it takes. Students are on individual microphones and have to learn how to manipulate their voices to make a perfect blend. Some voices are altered as they come through the microphone with a sound system to imitate certain sounds.
“They are learning how to sing independently but also still balance and blend and depend on others. We have the element of some choreography and that opens the door for them to learn the electronic or technical side of music as well. How am I mixing and editing your voices that are coming out at the moment? How do these effects work, and how can we fully maximize this experience for you?” Pabon said.
Katie Kunkel, the choir program’s fundraising head, appreciates Pabon’s drive for finding opportunities for the choir to shine and grow in the community. Being able to be involved in many ranges of activities gives students the chance to experience new settings and improve in areas they have succeeded in before.
“I think she’s improved the choir program by being very organized and finding so many different opportunities for us to get our name out there. Not only in the school, but also in different outward programs, such as the Cavs game that we’re going to be singing at on December 18th,” Kunkel said.
As treasurer Kunkel brainstorms a lot of ideas on how to raise money for the choir. She works with Pabon to come up with ideas such as holiday themed activities that incorporate music or selling items at lunch. Kunkel affirms that Pabon’s organized schedule allows for an easy flow of communication and a safe place to generate ideas.
After working diligently for the first quarter, the Revere choir’s three branches performed at their RHS Fall Chorale Showcase on October 26th at 7:00 pm in the RHS Auditorium. The showcase featured performances by the symphonic choir, chorale and acapella and allowed students to show off all of their new skills.
As president of the choir, Gianna Kosir worked on many different aspects of the event.
“I’m overseeing the media crew with different things we’re posting, like our flyers and our programs and everything like that. I probably will talk at the concert itself, just introducing myself and what I do. A lot of the fundraising opportunities will have been set up before the choir concert so that I’ll definitely be involved there,” Kosir said.
The many changes in the program including the “revamped” acapella choir and a new focus on music literacy that, in the long run, will help students be more prepared and allow them to learn music quicker. Pabon invites students to stop in and see what the choir is doing and is excited to watch the choir community grow.
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