Bursts of excitement filled the room on Nov. 6 as OH students introduced the future freshmen to the choir program during the annual Big Cat Choral festival at the OH Barnes Performing Art Center.
“We had the most engagement [this year],” said OH senior Morgan Pawlisz. “Everyone was just super into it and just really excited to sing with each other.”
The choral festival involves eighth grade students from Traughber and Thompson Junior High to perform and fun activities with the OH students. “It was good,” OH sophomore Josselyn Russell said. “It was nice to hear [from] the middle schoolers and everything.”
The event went quite smoothly according to Thompson Junior High Choir teacher Julie Kleinmeier. “We made some changes that I really enjoyed and really liked,” she said. There was much engagement and positive energy throughout the grade levels that night, which made the event and performances so special.
The leadership from the students at OH was a really great help to the festival and to everyone. Their energy and enthusiasm made the environment more comfortable and special.
“I really, really also liked the leadership from the high school kids,” Kleinmeier said. “They were just very proactive and talking with the junior high kids and really getting them excited about going to the high school.”
The preparation for this event takes around four weeks to make sure that everything is planned out for the night. This includes meals, music and the schedule for the day. That evening, 102 students were in attendance, and the planning made it easy to handle all tasks.
Five different groups performed different songs: OH Stay Tuned, A Capella, Oswego Commotion, Thompson Junior High 8th Grade Choir, and Traughber Junior High 8th Grade Choir were all groups which performed.
Each group performed individually before they all came together to perform some songs as the Big Cat Choral Festival Choir. This offered everyone an opportunity to explore other choir groups and different types of music.
“Bringing students together is what makes [this event] so special,” OH choir teacher Mark Baglione said.
The festival offers different kinds of opportunities for participants. These include showing talents, making connections, getting to know more people with the same interests, and even becoming more comfortable with singing in a different environment.
The Big Cat Choral festival went well for everyone. The potential and opportunities that the festival has evoked happiness, excitement, and engagement.
“This was probably our best ‘Big Cat’ ever,” said Pawlisz, as this event is something students can continue to look forward to for the upcoming years.
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