Hushed voices whispered softly to each other in the Taylor Performing Arts Center, programs shuffling in audience members’ hands as they anxiously waited for the annual Bishop’s Choral Concert, “I Dream a World” to begin. They didn’t yet know what to expect.
Just across the stage’s red curtain, more hushed voices murmured quick words to those near them, anticipation strong as they prepared their voices and their minds to sing.
Then, at 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM respectively, the whispers on both sides of the curtain stopped. For the next hour, the audience and the performers were one. The show was about to begin.
Performers Lisa and Coco Give Us a Peek Behind the Curtain
3:30 PM — Warm Up Onstage!
Choir members began to hoard the bathrooms starting at 3:00 PM, slipping into their choir dresses and suits, shoes, tights, and touching up their appearance. Excited chatter filled the stalls as people rushed in and out, ready to warm up onstage at 3:30 PM sharp. With only fifteen minutes to prepare ourselves before the house was open to the public, there was no time for dilly dallying.
We started by warming up our vocal ranges, first moving up the scale for our sopranos and altos, and then moving down the scale for our tenors and bases. After, we move onto diction to practice our enunciation of words when singing. Lastly, we practice a short and fun ensemble piece such as, “Fine By Me,” and split into parts to quickly sing through the song. Warming up together before we sing is one other way for the choir to become united before we perform for an audience, ensuring that our voices will blend together.
3:45 PM — Circle Up and Perform Choir Rituals
After warming up, all choirs — Bishop’s Singers, Bishop’s Chorus, and the Middle School Choir — gathered in the theater tech workshop space in backstage TPAC, huddled around a table. The choir tradition of passing ‘the squeeze’ was about to commence. Bella Combs (‘25) started the squeeze chain, explaining this tradition to the middle schoolers, who eagerly held hands with the older choir members around them.
Technical Theater & Design Mr. Kyle Melton poked his head through the door to alert us that we had ten minutes left before we had to take our positions on the risers, the platforms on stage where we stand while performing. A few Seniors, Bella Combs (‘25), Riley Brunson (‘25), and Laine Beamer (‘25) led the choir in our chant, “Do Nice Things For Others,” while we all stuck our hands out in the center of the table.“But, we can’t really yell backstage, since the house is open, so we’ll whisper-shout,” Riley Brunson (‘25) said humorously to the excited middle schoolers. Soon after, we lined up in the courtyard and ascended onto the stage.
4:00 PM — Concert #1
After waiting not only all day but months since the start of school, the choir was able to enter the stage and perform their songs for an audience. Starting off with the song “The Spark of Creation” from the Broadway musical Children of Eden, the audience and the Bishop’s Singers were immediately filled with energy from the upbeat tempo and theme of the song. Afterwards, the Bishop’s Singers and Bishop’s Chorus, with the help of Director of Choral Music Dr. Christine Micu, led themselves and the audience on a journey of growth and change of the world and most importantly of themselves.
In the 45 minute concert the Bishop’s Singers, Bishops Chorus, and Bishops Middle School Choir sang many different songs, such as Wonder by Mack Wilberg and David Warner, and The Armed Forces Salutes, of many genres which perfectly encapsulated the message that we were trying to send to the audience. This message is about what one can do to make a difference in themselves and in the world, starting from the spark of your creation to the time when you become yourself and to that final moment when your dreams finally come true.
4:50 PM — End of Concert + change out of concert attire
After more than an hour of standing on the risers, choir members were glad to be free of their dress shoes and choir dresses. By this time, the sky had darkened and the night turned unexpectedly frigid. All choir members seized their sweatshirts, fingers freezing off in the cold. Having around half an hour before dinner arrived in the cafeteria, some choir members went off-campus to grab some refreshments. One such place was Better Buzz, which had delicious Peppermint Hot Chocolate to warm our bodies.
5:30 PM — Eat dinner and change back into concert attire
After performing, the Bishop’s Choir’s were lucky enough to have an amazing parent volunteer bring delicious Thai food for dinner for all of us to enjoy before the next show. We all grabbed some food and made our way to a place to eat. A large group of the singers all sat in the Senior Rec room and simply just talked and laughed about fun memories from choir over the years. For the seniors this was bittersweet because they were reflecting on the good things from choir that they so much enjoyed just as their time in the group was slowly coming to an end.
As the clock was ticking closer to the starting time, Dr. Micu informed everyone that we need to get ready for the next concert and to circle up. Everyone made their way back to the bathrooms and got ready again for the second concert.
6:20/6:30pm — Circle up outside for senior speeches
The wind was blowing fiercely at this time and the sky was so dark we couldn’t see anyone’s faces. We gathered on the grassy patch by the basement to hear senior speeches before we performed our closing concert that evening. We stood, shivering, passing a constant squeeze through linked hands while we listened to the many speeches. Many of these speeches pulled at heartstrings, shedding light on the kind of community choir offered each senior as they journeyed through Bishop’s life. In the minutes leading up to our second concert, the dressing rooms were full of chatter, laughter, and constant shushing to remind everyone that the house was open.
7:00 PM — Concert #2
For the second time we started off with the same songs as last time, but with more confidence than before. After learning these songs for months since the start of the school year, the reminder that this was the last concert for us to sing them made everyone want to do as well as they can. With this idea in mind and the senior speeches from right before the concert everyone was full of emotions.
We sang through the concert successfully and were extremely proud and happy with ourselves and the message we portrayed.
8:00 PM — Reception!
After the final concert we were told to change and that there was a dessert reception in the cafeteria. Everyone got out of their concert attire and after asking Dr. Micu what we could help with, all made our way into the cafeteria to spend one last moment all together before we dispersed from campus.
The desserts were sweet, but what was even a sweater was hearing the laughter and congratulations circulating the room. In all this concert didn’t only allow the Bishops Singer’s to sing but also to look within themselves and reflect on the themes of change, courage, strength, and hope. Thank you to everyone who can to support and we all hope to see you at the next concert.
Audience Member Nora Describes Watching the Show
As the audience sat down in the theater’s red, velvety seats, programs in their laps and eyes on the stage, conversations subsided and the rustling of programs faded. The “I Dream a World” concert was starting.
“Our concert is a journey,” Dr. Micu said — and she couldn’t have been more correct. As Bishop’s Singer Sashi Chuckravanen (‘25) explained, the show is “built upon [itself] … from childhood joys to making the decisions that inform our future, until we reach ‘I Dream a World,’ the culmination of the show.” Bishop’s Singer Isabella “Bella” Combs (‘25) added, “The show takes us on a journey through time where we encounter struggle and push through, despite a rough trek.”
The first song in this voyage was “The Spark of Creation,” composed by Stephen Schwartz from the musical Children of Eden. As Dr. Micu explained, this piece is about “the idea of being born, and being inspired to do something and be something.” Performed by all choirs, “The Spark of Creation” felt energetic, powerful, and full of life. It set the stage for a “theme of resilience and hope” for the rest of the show, as Bella put it.
This frame of hope and strength was partially inspired by the fact that the show took place directly after the polarizing 2024 U.S. election. In the face of this election, Dr. Micu wanted the concert to be “hopeful — to think about what our world can be.” She explained that, despite struggles, “We still hope that things are going to work out for the best.” Bella added, “We wanted to draw from our own experience about what it means to have pride for your country and how to find unity in moments where we might all feel separated.”
As this path for hope, unity, and fighting for your beliefs developed throughout the show, another standout song was “Now I Become Myself,” composed by Gwyneth Walker and performed by all altos and sopranos. Both Dr. Micu and Bella mentioned that this song was one of their favorites. “It’s this really powerful song about realizing who you are and fully becoming yourself,” Dr. Micu said. As the chorus repeated the refrain “Now I become, I become myself” again and again in a low tone, it represented seeing confidence and “growth,” as Dr. Micu put in, begin to flourish in real time. To make your mark on the world, you must learn to believe and trust in yourself, and become assured of who you are. This number demonstrates that.
If “Now a Become Myself” is about finding the strength to fight for your beliefs, “What Happens When a Woman” is about what happens when people do find that strength. With only the female sopranos and altos performing this song, it was a powerful display of women resisting inequality and taking power. Sashi stood in the middle of the stage, surrounded by the other singers, and sang a short solo at the beginning and end of the song. As other voices gradually joined hers, it came across as a community uniting with her. Sashi described the concert as demonstrating how we can all “step into our own powers in order to contribute to society.” That theme is apparent in this song.
“Tell My Father,” sung by the male voices in the show and composed by Frank Wildhorn, is a bittersweet but compelling piece about looking back on your life after you have hoped and you have fought for what you believe in. “[This song] is about a serviceman in the Civil War who is dying,” Dr. Micu explained. “He’s saying ‘Tell my father that I did all the things that I believed in and I fought for truth and justice.’” Though it has a sadder mood than a rousing piece like “What Happens When a Woman,” this song was just as powerful and reflective as well. It made the audience think to themselves: When I am older, will I look back at my life and be proud of how I lived?
Directly after “Tell My Father,” all choirs came onstage to sing “Stand Up,” composed by Joshua Campbell and Cynthia Echeumuna-Erivo from the film Harriet. A standout of the show “Stand Up” included impressive individual performances. The beginning of the song began with strong solos by Lisa Pan (‘26) at the 4:00PM show and Aviva Wrosch (‘27) at the 7:00PM. At the 7:00PM performance, Aviva’s voice was potent, rousing, and incredibly compelling, speaking to the themes of power, community, and resilience of “Stand Up. In addition the solos, Lainie Beamer (‘25), Eliana Leff (‘26), Sophia Bao (‘25), and Sashi Chuckravanen (‘25) performed small group solos at the 4:00 PM show, which Sofia Hayden (‘25), Bella Combs (‘25), Riley Brunson (‘25), and Priyanka Raisinghani (‘27) performed for the 7:00PM show.
Finally, the journey came to an end with the titular piece: “I Dream a World” based on a poem of the same title by Langston Hughes and composed by Rosephanye Powell. “This concert is meant to be enjoyed, as well as reflected upon,” Sashi said. “Learning these songs has made me realize the weight that my decisions hold, not only in choir but in life, and I hope the audience takes away even a bit of that feeling.”
Dr. Micu concluded, “We want people to come away feeling hopeful, feeling like I got to enjoy some beautiful music. No matter how you’re feeling walking in, that you feel better walking out.”
