What’s recently happened?
On December 6, Griffith High School (GHS) held its annual winter concert.
This year, the concert looked a little different than in previous years, as it was held in the cafeteria instead of the auditorium due to in-progress renovations. Despite the change in scenery for Griffith Choir, the group still did an outstanding job. Senior Elijah Neal described the change as proof that the choir can perform in any space given to them.
“It was definitely interesting getting used to the acoustics of the cafeteria rather than the auditorium, but I think we adjusted well and still performed our best,” said Neal.
The night was full of strong performances from the middle school choir, concert choir, chorale, as well as a few highlighted soloists.
Concert choir performed four songs including “Wellerman,” “Thirty Little Angels,” “Over My Head,” and “The Hallelujah Chorus.” “The Hallelujah Chorus” specifically is a tradition to perform at GHS.
“My favorite song we performed was ‘Wellerman’ because of the fun accents we had while singing and it was recently popular on TikTok,” said Freshman Janae Nolan.
Chorale performed a beautiful arrangement of “Carol of the Bells” that many students described as their favorite song of the night.
“My favorite song was ‘Carol of the Bells’ because it is such an interesting and fast-paced song. I love a good, challenging piece of music,” said Senior Ashley Taylor.
Students felt confident in their performance with the winter concert.
“I felt honored to be with the best singers in our school. The songs were much more difficult than what I was used to coming from the middle school choir,`` said Freshman Nick Grahovac.
What’s coming up?
Every year, students involved in the choir program at GHS get excited to compete at the Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) competitions. On January 28, choir students will go to compete at ISSMA for solo and ensemble.
Last year, Griffith’s choir received a score of gold for its performance at the regional competition, and students plan to continue that tradition this year.
Taylor is a senior in the choir who was a part of the gold the concert choir received, as well as the gold that was achieved by the Advanced Chamber Choir that helped the group go to the ISSMA State Competition in Indianapolis, where the team also achieved a gold.
“Chorale is hoping to get gold this year, and I know everyone is willing to work hard towards it, especially since we are probably going Group I, which is the most difficult,” said Taylor.
The choir has not yet begun practicing its music for the upcoming competition, but students are not worried because they don’t feel pressured learning hard music quickly.
“I feel very confident with this year's choir. Everyone is very talented and hardworking. When Mr. Vincent Dore gives us a difficult piece, we all look at it positively and take on the challenges of it instead of being worried about it,” Taylor said.
Students can also look forward to doing solo events at ISSMA. One of these students, Paige Hale, is a sophomore at GHS.
“I’m excited to see if all the work and practice I have been doing for my voice has made a difference. This is my first time competing alone in any singing competition, so I’m nervous, but I’m excited,” Hale said.
ISSMA is an exciting time for choir students. Everyone at GHS is excited to see how well the choir will do this year.
Staff spotlight:
Vincent Dore is the choir director and newest addition to GHS' Music Department. For the past two years, Virginia Hernandez acted as both the school’s band and choir director, but, thanks to Dore, GHS has had the opportunity to expand its music program with another amazing teacher to lead students.
Dore has no lack of musical experience, making him a great leader for GHS' choir. He has been a member of the Chicagoland arts community for 20 years and has performed as a vocalist with several professional choirs across the country.
Dore has performed in off-Broadway productions in New York City and has traveled all over the world singing opera and musical theatre.
“I have been lucky enough to perform to sold out audiences in London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Cardiff, Rome, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Antonio, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and many more.” Said Dore.
Dore served as a choir director and music teacher at Hammond High School for 10 years before coming to GHS. During his time there, he grew the largest choir in the school’s history. Before that, Dore taught music in the Chicagoland area.
“I worked mostly in low-income areas and worked with a very diverse group of students,” said Dore.
Dore went to college at Saint Xavier University in Chicago where he was the recipient of multiple scholarships, including a music scholarship, a presidential scholarship, a peer ministry scholarship, a resident assistant scholarship, and an Italian-American scholarship.
Dore has had a love for music since he was very young.
“I have memories of learning how to play the accordion with my grandfather while he taught me to sing old Italian love songs. My first professional role was at the age of 15,” said Dore.
Dore explained that his favorite thing about working at GHS and in the music department is the environment that is within the building.
“I love how safe, clean, and happy our building environment always is. I also love how happy both the students and staff look. No one seems to hate coming to our building,” said Dore.
Dore also speaks highly of the environment the students in choir create.
“They don’t just want to have fun; they want to sound their best,” he said.
Dore will also be working as the vocal director for the Griffith Theatre Company’s upcoming production of “Annie.”
Students have also loved having Dore as a teacher.
“My favorite thing about choir is the teacher. Mr. Dore is a powerful motivator; he never fails to make me laugh and make me feel better, even when I have my doubts about myself. He’s always at the top of his game, regardless of if he’s having a bad day or not. Choir wouldn’t be so fun if we didn’t have a fun teacher,” said Grahovac.
Dore has been an excellent addition to the staff at GHS. The entire choir department is very excited to see what he does to build GHS’ choir program.
Student spotlight:
Jeremiah Fuentes is a freshman at GHS and an extremely promising student in the Griffith Music Department.
Fuentes will be performing a solo at the upcoming ISSMA competition this January.
Fuentes has been involved in Griffith’s choir program since he was in seventh grade. He is now in GHS' most advanced choir, Chorale.
“Being a freshman in Chorale is really exciting because I get to be surrounded by people who take choir as seriously as I do. Everyone is really talented, and I feel honored to be a part of it,” said Fuentes.
Fuentes is very dedicated to choir and chose it as his graduation pathway.
Fuentes is also a member of Class Council, Student Council, Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), Social Studies Academic Bowl, and the Griffith Theatre Company (GTC). Outside of school, Fuentes is a dancer and takes voice lessons.
“I started voice lessons in the summer of 2021, and I’ve really enjoyed it because I get to hear my voice improve," he said.
He also has been in various musicals since elementary school, allowing him to become very involved in music.
This summer, Fuentes did multiple shows, one in which he played Squidward in a production of “SpongeBob the Musical.” He also recently finished playing Mr. Kraler in the GTC’s production of “The Diary of Anne Frank.”
“My goal is to be able to do theatre professionally, and I think working on my voice really helps with that as well as doing not only shows with the GTC but also community theatre," Fuentes said.
Fuentes plans on continuing to do choir and all his extracurriculars for the rest of his four years of high school, making him a very promising student with lots of ambition.