San Dimas Chamber Retreat

One class period a day isn’t enough time for a choir to become a family. This year’s Chamber Singers decided to take the first step toward coming together by taking a trip to the YMCA Camp E.L.K. The goal of the weekend was to become closer and to share the art of music.

Senior, Travis Fuller, spoke for many when he talked about what he anticipated prior to the trip, “I was expecting the choir to bond more, and to become more of a family. I was expecting to practice a lot and learn our music better and just have a good time.”

Chamber Singers have a lot of pressure on them when it comes to performing, so this trip was an opportunity for the choir to practice music for their upcoming fall concert. Fuller explains this when he says, “The room that we were rehearsing in was very good in the acoustic sense. The room we usually rehearse in is very open, so our sound really escapes us, but in that room, we were able to hear all of the other sections better and we were able to fix mistakes that we had.”

Making a great choir doesn’t just require amazing vocals, it also requires the members to come together and feel comfortable with each other. Fuller acknowledges this when he mentions, “These are people you’re sharing your whole school year with and singing is vulnerable. It can be very hard for people to share with other people, so if you come together as a choir and as a family, then you’re a lot more comfortable sharing your vulnerable side with each other.”