On December 11, Campo Choir held their annual winter concert at the Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church. This event included Christmas songs and a small reception accompanied with desserts, allowing everyone to mingle and share holiday excitement.
This concert comes at a time where people are preparing for finals as holidays quickly approach. Senior Curtis Smith-Wilde shares his experience with handling the stress: “I feel a lot of stress with my essays and I have a lot of tests and I have this concert. So it’s a bit of a crunch to get everything done.” Junior Sage Balducci agreed saying, “Considering the concert and finals are so close together, I have a lot on my plate right now.” Senior Siena Balassi concurred, “It is a little bit stressful because it’s obviously a lot to do at once, and it takes up a good amount of time,” she said.
Despite the stress they are feeling, the concert was a success, with people in attendance enjoying the songs and food. Balassi mentions, “I think it went very well, and I think individually and as an ensemble, we did a really good job.” Balducci, who performed a solo during the song, Chanukah Madrigal, shares how she feels: “I’m pretty happy that I got [the solo]. I worked really hard on it and I definitely put a lot of effort into getting it.” Smith-Wilde says that the choir “help support [their] soloists” to prepare for the concert.
With the amount of practice and effort the choir puts into their performances, many didn’t experience intense nerves when performing. Balassi says, “I don’t really get nervous just because I’m with so many other people on stage, but I do get really excited.” Smith-Wilde agrees and says, “I’m not nervous, I’ve done this a lot.” With having a solo, Balducci notes, “I always get a little nervous. But the thing for me is, I just make sure to practice, and how I practice is how I perform.”
Along with the excitement that comes with completing a successful concert, there is a bittersweet feeling for the seniors as it is their last winter concert they will perform with the Campo Choir. Choir has been an important aspect of her Balassi’s high school experience. She said “I’ve been in choir all four years, and it’s definitely one of my biggest highlights.” Smith-Wilde said, “I’m pretty sad that this is the last one for me.”
