With the school year coming to an end, Niles North’s choir groups decided to go out with a bang. Acapella concerts have taken place in previous years, however this year, they dazzled the audience with their theme, A Night at the Movies.

“This concert is special because it’s mostly contemporary music,” choral director Andrew Dahan said. “The students had more freedom to arrange a lot of these pieces and with a unique theme like movies, it’s been really fun. We’re also honoring our seniors at this concert.”

An acapella concert at North isn’t something new, but the addition of a theme made this event even more exciting. Acapella requires lots of skill and focus, it doesn’t require vocals, but background vocals to create the instrumentals of the song. And while not all songs are acapella, they’ve all taken a lot of time and dedication in terms of picking out the music and bringing it to life. 

 “We’re not reading off of music,” senior Crystal Patto said. “We take more ownership of what we put onstage because these are our own arrangements. It makes my brain hurt in a good way.”

Students in the curricular choirs were given the task to sing acapella versions of songs recognizable from well-known movies. Some movies represented in the concert included Shang-Chi, Twilight, and White Chicks. With at least one song audience members could recognize, it was a great way to bring the community together during the final days of school. 

“It feels really surreal that my high school choir experience is over. We worked so hard over the past couple weeks as a group and I’m so grateful for the time spent together arranging our music,” senior Victoria Fernandez said.

All in all, the final choir concert of the school year was a huge success, and as for our graduating seniors? It was definitely a night to remember. Choir will resume next school year, so reach out to [email protected] if you’re interested in joining.