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Arms outstretched, the tenor and bass sections of the choir perform “Bonk’ Abaphandle,” the final piece performed exclusively by Westwood singers. The song’s theme of welcoming was designed to serve as a welcome to “The Tribe” for younger learning communities.
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In the alto section of the choir, seniors Tara Kurkal and Bidita Majumdar perform a part of “Bonk’ Abaphandle”. The song, a Zulu piece composed by South African artists Michael Barrett and Mbuso Ndlovu, featured percussive choreography by the singers.
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Before the final piece of music, Ana Jovanovic and her fellow choir members listen to Mr. Andre Clark’s presentation. The singers were preparing to sing for the first time as a full company – in conjunction with middle school and elementary school choirs.
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While middle school and Westwood Choirs keep up their harmony, Kritanko Chakraborty ’25 performs a Maori chant in the midst of the piece “Kia Hora Te Marino”. Chakraborty used his prior experience of living in New Zealand and studying linguistics to prepare the chant.
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While the elementary school singers were arranging themselves on the bleachers, Anoushka Basu ’27 and the rest of Audacity perform “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae. Audacity, Westwood Choirs’ show choir, meets outside of school hours to rehearse their pop music performances.
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With the soprano and bass sections behind her, choir assistant director Ms. Emma DeGraaf prepares to perform. Choir faculty were responsible for playing a number of instruments throughout the concert – such as piano, guitar, and a variety of percussion instruments.
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As fellow choir members flood the risers, Chamber singers Anika Sharma ’26, Awa-Susan Currier ’25, and Violet Vara ’27 discuss plans for the subsequent piece. The singers were prepping to perform the last song before the high school singers were joined by middle school and elementary school counterparts.
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With his students behind him, Westwood Choir director Mr. Andre Clark addresses an audience of singers and families. In addition to simply managing the flow of the concert, Mr. Clark also highlighted some key themes of the show and of Westwood Choir, such as the concept of “The Tribe.”
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The Raymond E. Hartfield Performing Arts Center (PAC) is overflowing, literally. The 1,200-seats of the auditorium are completely full, leaving parents and families to loiter by the entrances or lean on guardrails as they watch singers from over half a dozen programs perform as one. Thursday, Nov. 7 marked Westwood Choirs’ annual Vertical concert, where high school choir members sing alongside choirs from feeder middle and elementary schools for the sake of fostering a sense of community and interconnectedness among the Westwood learning communities.
The concert draws its name from one of Round Rock Independent School District’s (RRISD) flagship programs: Vertical Learning Communities. The term represents the idea that all levels of learning within the district (elementary, middle, and high school) grow into one another and “represent a child’s potential journey from elementary to secondary education,” as per the RRISD website. In the realm of choir, this manifests through shared rehearsals and events, collaboration with choir directors from other schools, and ultimately a collective performance opportunity.
“What’s so cool about the Vertical concert is seeing all the different grades of people interested in music coming together to do something,” Choir officer Awa Currier ‘25 said. “Also, it’s a great way for Westwood Choir to get out in the community. Mr. [Andre] Clark will always talk about the students who participated in it who go on to be his students later, so it’s a really cute full circle moment for everyone involved.”
The concert has expanded in scope over the past couple years, as choir programs continue to bolster in the years after the COVID-19 pandemic, which left notable impacts on membership and engagement.
“Freshman year, our morale was kind of down, we didn’t really want to be making music,” Currier said. “And there weren’t as many elementary schoolers, because they didn’t get to do music in school the previous year. But Mr. Clark, with this concert in particular, doesn’t really let us off the hook, even though the music is a lot easier. Over the past couple years, since I’ve been to all four concerts, I’ve seen the number of elementary schoolers and Grisham middle schoolers really increase, which I think is so cool.”
Proper preparation for the concert began earlier in the week, with a rehearsal event called “Taco Tuesday.” The event served to introduce the middle school and high school singers, and prepare their joint songs.
“We invite the middle schoolers to practice with us, and we bond a lot,” choir member Anoushka Basu ‘27 said. “We rehearse the songs together so they’re prepared for the big group setting.”
The concert also featured a performance by Audacity, the show choir, which is an offshoot club of Westwood Choirs. The twelve members performed Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae.
“We basically just practice after school twice a week,” Basu, also a member of Audacity, said. “The day of the concert we met up during FLEX and finalized parts, solos, [and] choreo. I think it went really well.”
The concluding piece of the show was a piece called Kia Hora Te Marino by Christopher Tin. The piece is a part of a larger project by Tin, including music in a multitude of global languages. Elementary school singers lined the bleachers at the back of the stage, and high school and middle school students filled in the middle and front, even stretching off the sides of the stage onto the PAC’s ramps. The song also featured a chant in the middle, performed by Executive Officer Kritanko Chakraborty ‘25. Chakraborty was born in New Zealand, and used his cultural experiences – and personal linguistic interests – to master the chant.
“To learn [the chant], it was sort of easy for me, because I spent some time learning the longest place name in the world, which is also in New Zealand,” Chakraborty said. “But I also listened to the recording of the song to figure out the inflection.”
As a senior and an officer, Chakraborty also became responsible for managing and instructing the younger students throughout the event in conjunction with the Canyon Vista Choir director, Mr. Raul Vara.
“We really helped with making sure everyone was focused, and not running around – kind of herding cattle,” Chakraborty said. “Mr. Vara’s a really good teacher, especially at the middle school level, and there’s a lot of things high schoolers can learn from him and his style of teaching.”
As the concert came to an end, any difficulties were forgotten as all three levels of singers flooded the lobby of the PAC. The whole building was filled with the excitement and pride of a successful performance.
“I think the Vertical concert is really important because it invites middle school and elementary students to see what it’s like, what goes on in a high school choir,” Basu said. “And we’re basically inviting people to join our community, because choir is like a family to us.”
Westwood Choirs will next perform at their Winter Concert, Dec. 10 at Hope Presbyterian Church.
