From soccer players to brainiacs, the annual Upper School Cabaret is an opportunity for the members of the Upper School Choirs to come together and share the same gift they all possess – the gift of singing. Directed by Mr. Sammie Logan, the Cabaret is a fun-filled evening consisting of songs chosen and performed by the varied members of the Upper School mixed choir and the Upper School women’s choir. It is a wonderful opportunity for the individual students to showcase their talents separate from their choir. The audience and members of the chorus have different experiences with the process and the final Cabaret performance; however, they all agree that there are many favorite moments of the night. Audience member Barrett Nickels expressed that his favorite part of the night was the Women’s Chorus acapella selection. Brett Dudley ‘19, a member of the women’s chorus, added that was her favorite part as well because the women’s choir is so close, and it was fun getting the opportunity all to sing together. This being Barrett’s first time attending a Cabaret, he was very impressed, loved the song choices and singers, and will continue to attend in the years ahead.

A veteran of the music department, Lauren Coureas ‘19, had a lot of positive things to say about the event. Every year her favorite part about the performance is hearing everyone’s song selections and their renditions and how they make the piece their own. Brett and Lauren both agree there was enough time to prepare but Lauren added that there could have been more rehearsal time even though she believes that everyone does thrive under a time crunch. Another audience member, Olivia Van Horn ‘19,  enjoys attending Cabaret to support her talented friends. Her favorite part was watching good friend Elena Duncan perform because it was her last year singing in Cabaret.

For the seniors, this Cabaret was extremely meaningful. Brett Dudley ‘19 has been in chorus for 5 years and participated in Cabaret for her 4 years of high school. Brett commented that “it’s hard to believe it is over, I love it so much, and it is always encouraging to sing in front of a supportive community.” This year being Lauren’s 4th and final cabaret but 9th year in chorus, this Cabaret had a real bittersweet feeling to her. She expressed, “ It is a bittersweet feeling knowing that I was able to participate in something these past four years that brings so many different people together to listen to many different genres of music, but it does make me really sad to know this was my last year to do so. I’m extremely grateful though to have been given the opportunity.”

Every audience member agrees that this show should continue in the future. Both Barrett and Olivia think it is an important school event that they enjoy watching. Barrett added that it not only raises money for the music program, but it is also entertaining for everyone who attends.