3rd Annual Carols in the Square - Friday, December 9th @ 7 PM (Bastrop Courthouse)Happy Holidays, BHS Choir students and families! First of all, thank you to all who attended our Holiday Concert December 1st; I hope you enjoyed the performance as much as we enjoyed preparing it for you! I think the students did a fantastic job and certainly made some holiday memories they'll never forget! The holidays are often a season for reflection as we leave behind the old year and celebrate the new, so I would like to share with you a few reflections I have of our BHS Choir program in 2022. We've had an incredible year in BHS Choir, and I would like to share some end-of-year reflections here are as look ahead for the new year. 1. Creation of the BHS Choir Officer Board: Last year, we added an officer board to our organization and the difference has been astounding! We currently have 3 officers: President, Vice President, and Social Events Manager. The first officer board was completely student-elected, with each candidate standing and speaking in front of the choir why they should be considered for each position. In May, we held officer interviews for the 2022-23 board where students had to answer a series of position-based questions in regards to the position they desired. In just the year that this program has been implemented, it has had a HUGE impact on our choir and its singers! Not only does this provide an incredible opportunity for student leadership in our program, it also provides students with much needed community-building events and a stronger sense of "choir family" from the socials we have put on. I am incredibly proud of our officer program and am constantly impressed by the way our students have stepped up to become excellent leaders! 2. Addition of Treble Choir: Last year, we finally had a great trajectory of growth that allowed us to add a second ensemble to the course register at Bastrop High School. The BHS Treble Choir is an elite group of young women who can perform, sight-read, and sing at advanced levels both in concert and competition settings. At first, the 13 girls were shy and didn't quite realize their full potential as an ensemble, but as time passed and their hard work started to pay off these girls realized that the Treble Choir experience is unlike any other. I cannot express how proud I am of these girls and their commitment to work hard every day from bell to bell to learn the most challenging, taxing, and rewarding music for Treble Choir we can find. We just started one of our UIL pieces this week and, well, let's just say you won't want to miss it at the Pre-UIL concert in February! 3. 100% Growth 2021-22 to 2022-23: We lost 6 singers of our 24-student choir last year to graduation, so the need for choir growth was at an all-time high! Despite losing 6 seniors to graduation, our program grew almost 100% from 18 singers to 36 singers this year! Even more impressive than that; 17 of the 18 singers from 2021-22 re-enrolled in 2022-23. I am incredibly excited to see our program grow at such a high rate, and hope that growth continue into the years to come! So much of the credit for this growth must be extended to Ms. King at the BMS Choir program; her work to get our students excited about choir early is certainly having a major impact on our choir program here at BHS! 4. MORE PERFORMANCES THAN EVER!: Last year, we held 14 performances througout the school year; this year, we have already performed 7 times and are on pace to match if not meet that 14 performance record! Most schools only perform at formal concerts twice a year; I am very proud to say that our choir students get exponentially more opportunities to perform for their families, peers, community, and each other! I know this schedule is very taxing, both on our students and YOU, their families!, but I also know that each of these performances creates bonds and memories within our choir program that cannot be replaced. Thank you for your support through a crazy performance schedule; we couldn't do it without you! If you have any reflections from your experience with BHS Choir in 2022, good or bad, please do not hesitate to share them with me! I would love to hear your experience over the past year as a student, family member, or supporter and use that information to make our BHS Choir program even better in the future. Thank you for all you do for our BHS Choir program; we've had an incredible year in 2022, and I cannot wait to see the wonderful experiences in store for 2023! Kindly, Ms. Davis
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