Feb. 22 marked NH’s annual choral day: a day where students from North Harford High School’s feeder schools get to sing in front of each other. “The event allows fifth graders to see what it will be like to participate in middle and high school music ensembles,” says Mrs. Kristen Engelke, music teacher at Norrisville Elementary School, one of the schools in attendance. 

     “Choral day is coordinated between myself and all of our feeder elementary and middle school teachers! Each year, I select a date and then each teacher selects their group’s repertoire and lets me know what they plan to sing,” says choir teacher Ms. Katelyn Hemling.

     “Fifth grade choirs from North Bend Elementary, Forest Hill Elementary, North Harford Elementary, Dublin Elementary, Jarrettsville Elementary, and Norrisville Elementary,” Hemling said, along with the, “seventh and eighth grade choirs from North Harford Middle.”

     Lots of time goes into planning this event in order to make it run as smoothly as possible. “This year, we had an interesting scenario. North Bend Elementary School closed unexpectedly due to a water issue. Their teacher, [Mrs. Erika Lancaster], worked incredibly fast to troubleshoot and was able to coordinate a way for the students to still be able to attend,” says Hemling, keeping North Bend’s hard work from going to waste.

     “Besides the fact that it is just a fun way to get the chance to sing together and enjoy music, choral day is a way for us to recruit students for the choral program here,” Hemling said. “I love seeing the excitement on the elementary schoolers’ faces when they come into the building and see all of the high schoolers! They are so excited to be here, and our choral students inspire them. I am also always so proud of how supportive our Hawks choir students are,” Hemling states. 

     The high school starts and ends the day. “We had multiple students lead warm ups and then our Tenor/Bass choir and Treble Choir performed. These two choirs are the choirs that these young students would start in when they arrived here!” Hemling says. 

     Work to prepare for this event starts months before the event. “We spent two months learning the song with the fourth and fifth grade combined Chorus. Eventually, fifth graders performed the song for fourth graders, who pretend to be professors and critique fifth graders’ performance for us,” says Engelke. 

      “This is my 21st Choral day, so I love it. I recognize my former students who are now middle and high schoolers, and I enjoy getting to see the other elementary teachers every year. I like to know what songs other teachers are singing too so I can go buy the ones we like for Norrisville,” Engelke says. 

     Every event always has room for improvements, and choral day is no different. “I wish it were held later in the year than in February. My students sign up for middle school band chorus or orchestra in May, and by then they don’t remember February anymore,” says Engelke. The main part of choral day is to show the rising high schoolers what they have to look forward to.