The annual Music In Our Schools (MIOS) concert took place on March 26 at Summit. At MIOS concerts, grade levels range from 4th to 12th grade. High school choir director Gabrielle Pierle said that the collaboration of the elementary schools, middle school, and high school allow for a memorable, impactful experience for all grades.
“[MIOS] is a really great initiative to help our community know the importance of music. We bring in the neighborhood elementary schools and the middle school once a year. [The students] kind of get to see the trajectory of music. They get to see a 4th grader sing all the way up to a senior in high school, and they get to see the importance of what music does in these people’s lives,” Pierle said.
High school choir students also recognize what an influence the MIOS concert gives to younger singers. The biggest takeaway from the concert that sophomore Bailey Messmer had was the inspired look on the faces of the younger singers.
“The biggest highlight for me was seeing the other kids sing and [the way] they looked at us when we were singing. It looked like they were looking up to us, it was really cute. I think it gives them something to want to achieve when they’re older,” Messmer said.
This year, Pierle introduced more rhythmic choreography movements to the high school chamber choirs. Collectively, both choirs performed the song “Três Cantos Nativos Dos” Senior Michael Stimpson said he enjoyed all aspects of learning the choreography from running it through to performing it.
“I enjoy the choreo a lot. I think it was a little bit of a challenge, but that’s what made it more fun. It wasn’t just simple, we had to actually try and put some effort into it,” Stimpson said.
As it was Stimpson’s last MIOS concert, he said that he reflected on all of his previous concerts and soaked in the moment as much as possible.
“I took in the moment a lot more and paid attention to the younger kids singing [because] it’s the last time I’m going to get to see it. Teachers [came] up to me after the concert telling me that I did a really good job with my solo. I think it was really cool to see some appreciation for my voice,” Stimpson said.
Even with the choirs preparing music since early January, a lot of new music was introduced in a short amount of time. Pierle said that she was very impressed with how fast the choirs were able to learn, let alone perform the new songs.
“[For] this particular concert, we started the music in January and then we performed it at the end of March. This year was unique, we had seven snow days and then we also had a large group festival. We decided not to sing any of our large group music at MIOS, which meant that [we had] even more music to work on. So it was nerve wracking at times to get it all done, but I also think we all really enjoyed having so much music and so much variety to work on. We really strived and then we ended up doing an amazing job. I was really proud with how many days we missed, how much we were juggling, and how well it went,” Pierle said.
The only challenge with having so many singers come together to perform is the large attendance that follows. Pierle said having such a big audience means it is harder to obtain everyone’s attention. The main thing Pierle said she would improve upon next year is getting the audience more focused and in tune with what is happening.
“What I would do better next year are some of the introductions. The audience, since it’s not in an auditorium where it’s dark in the room, was a little talkative at times. It was just a little more casual, which is great. It was hard to get them to calm down when a performance was starting. I think by talking to them on the microphone a little more about what’s about to happen and what’s happening [will] get them a little more focused,” Pierle said.
