This year, the LOHS choir Serenata is participating in the Treble Festival held at the University of Redlands for the first time since 2021. No current choir students have participated in this festival, making it a new and exciting experience for many, since the last class that participated was the graduating class of 2025.
Director of Serenata, Stevie Leyton, said, “I am most excited for Serenata to perform the poems; we’ve been working so hard on them, they’re just so fun, they’re funny, and I think with the choir audience tomorrow, they’re gonna hit better than the fall concert.”
Although Serenata was well prepared and excited for the concert, on the actual day of the performance, Serenata’s director, Leyton, fell sick with food poisoning. As a result, student staff members took the lead, and students were needed to conduct the pieces on short notice. Many singers were also sick and lost their voices, so, combined with an absent director, we had everything stacked against us. Although we were conducted by students who had no time to prepare in advance, Serenata was able to come together and perform as one voice.
Charlee Gilland, a four-year choir student and Serenata’s student director, said, “I love the community [of Serenata], everyone loves being together. It’s a very talented group of people, and everyone puts their best foot forward.”
Serenata is a choir that works hard and performs well. Lily Pourtabib, a second-year serenata student, said, “It’s really cool how all these girls come together and we all sing, and it’s been cool getting to know everybody, and overall connecting to these girls who are all my friends now.”
At the festival, Serenata performed the piece “Herbstleid,” a German poem written about how emotions shift with the seasons and dives into what love can become.
Pourtabib continues, “Herbstleid is a very deep piece, and you have to really connect to it to understand and see what it meant because we don’t speak the language, so I would say that it was a very fun song to learn and very important.”
Serenata is also performing all 3 of the poems from “Poems in the Parlour”, which are written by the Austen women, including Jane, the astounding author of many works, some of which being Pride and Prejudice, her sister Cassandra, and her mother, also named Cassandra, but beautifully drawn into choral arrangements that allow music to exemplify the satirical nature of the poems. These pieces celebrate female authors, such as the Austen women, and offer a feminine perspective on love and life itself.
Leyton said, “I like showcasing women composers and all the lyrics are written by women, I think it’s really important to empower y’all.”
After working hard, learning how to pronounce fancy German, and deciphering the whole-tone scale, Serenata had an incredible performance and showcased Osos’ talent in profound ways. Not only were these singers incredibly prepared, but when everything fell apart, they stayed together and let music guide their performance, rather than stress. Many students wish to participate in it again and hope to see more singers join Serenata and the LOHS choir program in whichever way they enjoy most.
Pourtabib said, “People should join serenata because singing is really fun, and you don’t understand how many people connect and become friends here- it’s just overall a great place to be.”
First-year choir student Savannah Watts agrees. She said, “I enjoy the atmosphere, [of serenata] everyone is so nice, when I say everyone, I mean everyone, and it’s so fun, I like singing and I like hanging out and meeting new people, I’ve already met so many nice people.”
She continues, “You should join, you don’t even have to be good at singing. If you want friends and a great atmosphere to be around, this is the perfect place to be. This is so sweet and amazing, I love it.”
Leyton created an amazing community of musicians who all love what they do. Leyton finishes, “We [Serenata] get to travel, we get to go to cool places like the University of Redlands and sing there, but I think we get a nice community with choir, and getting to share a voice with your friends is such a powerful thing we get to experience, but not everyone does.”