Akins held it’s annual choir concert on Dec. 7, featuring the Akins choir, the Paredes choir and the newly formed Akins A Capella team. The theater was filled with a supportive audience full of family and friends of all the performers.

The annual winter choir concert is not just another performance, for some it’s a chance to showcase talents that family and friends only rarely see.

Sophomore Mardi Cade, had family that came from Washington, to see both her Choir and A Capella performance. Even for families who don’t travel as far as coming from out of state, seeing their students perform is still a big deal, and sentimental moment, especially during the holidays.

“I was really nervous and excited too,” said Cade when she found out her mom was coming to see the A Capella team and Choir perform. Cade was really anxious to live up to her mom’s expectations, and talk of the group’s recent successes.

This was the first winter choir concert to feature the A Capella team, Akins newest vocal group. The team was originally, formed by senior Maheen Anjum. They were featured as the opening act of the concert. The group sang “Run to You,” by Pentatonix, who are known as a famous A Capella group.

Choir teacher Cathy Ballard hopes that the A Capella team will help to increase participation for the Akins Choir, by both drawing younger middle school students, and also creating a new form of interest in current high school students as well.

“A Capella gives students that wouldn’t normally be super interested in choir an outlet for that, and helps to build our program,” she said.

Next year, A Capella students must be involved in choir if they hope to be a part of the A Capella team; however, this group will give them a different outlet to use their talents in.

Ballard uses concerts as an opportunity to showcase individual talent, by allowing solos to be performed by students who audition to perform.

Many students performed solos to show individual talent and progress. Saru Chigubu and Taylor Fish performed solos at the concert, singing and playing “Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley and “Give Love on Christmas Day” by the Jackson Five, respectively. Demmi Alcantar and Kasey Craig performed a duet to “Where are you, Christmas?”

Performing at concerts allows students to become true performers and overcome fears such as stage fright.

“I get nervous before I perform, but when I’m performing, it’s really comfortable and cool to have the audience engage,” Fish said.

Gaining the experience choir students obtain from performing solos at Winter and Spring concerts, “makes you more willing to attend music contests and competitions,” soloist Saru Chigubu said.

When students have a chance to perform in front of an audience, they have a chance to realize how much others enjoy their performance. This helps build the confidence they need for competing in various contests.

Many students said they looked forward to the concert on Dec. 7. Senior Demmi Alcantar said she was excited about the concert “because Christmas concerts always have the best performances and because the Akins A Capella was going to perform for the first time.”

Both the Akins Choir students and the A Capella team love to showcase their musical talent, for their friends, family and other school faculty members to see. Concerts are a way for both the Choir, and A Capella to share their passion for singing and making music with their school community.