After months of hard work and preparation, Cherokee’s Concert Choir and Girls Ensemble had the opportunity to perform at the New Jersey Music Educators Association (NJMEA) State Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey on February 24. The conference was held in the convention center, which hosts events ranging from car shows to business conferences. The spectators primarily consisted of talented and experienced musicians, who got special access to experience this event live. All members of both choirs were required to wear their assigned tuxedos/dresses that they wore in their winter concert, as this was a more formal event.

The Concert Choir performed at 1:00 PM in a small conference room on the second floor of the convention center. Their setlist consisted of the songs “Autumn,” “My Companion,” “Loch Lomond,” (a Scottish tune) and “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” which were all songs that they previously performed at their winter concert in December. In addition, they performed two new songs titled, “Dying Soldier,” which was sung entirely by soloist Alexander Levins, and “Nyon Nyon,” which originally started out as a vocal warmup and has since evolved into a full song that many choirs enjoy performing nationwide. The song “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” was also suggested, but the choir felt it had more impressive songs to showcase. Following their performance, their audience gave them a standing ovation, with one man in the front row even asking for an encore! 

The Girls Ensemble performed later in the front lobby. They performed, “The Rose,” “Birds Lullaby,” “La Jeune Fille en Feu,” “No Time,” “Lily of the Valley,” and “Ain’t no grave.” During their final piece, the choir performed the chorus in sign language. 

“I was really excited to perform in front of people that enjoyed and understood music,” said Lily Barber (’24), a member of Cherokee’s Girl Ensemble. “I was especially excited for ‘Ain’t No Grave’ because we put a lot of work into it and I was really proud of the results.” 

Concert Choir and Girls Ensemble will have a myriad of performances during the month of May, including a performance at the Trinity Center for Urban Life in Philadelphia on May 1, the district concert at Seneca on May 3, and the spring concert.