Members of Hamilton High School’s Synergy Show Choir visited all four elementary schools in the Hamilton School District on March 20 to perform for the younger students. The visits are part of the Hamilton Arts in Community Education (HACE) program, which has created a district wide celebration of the performing arts. Hamilton School District music teachers developed HACE during the 2022-23 school year to give students of all ages authentic experiences to celebrate and appreciate all that the arts have to offer.
“It’s so much fun to see all the kids’ faces when we perform,” says Hamilton High School senior Reece Schrader. “I want them to come home to mom and dad and just tell them how much fun they had watching us perform and seeing the joy on our faces.”
Senior Evan Rosenau says he remembers being the age of the elementary school students he now performs for. “I hope that they take away an appreciation for music and what you can do. I hope they see that in a few years they can do this too.”
Rosenau explained that performances like these are very different from competitive show choir events. “When we go to competitions there are huge gyms filled with hundreds or like a thousand students and parents. But the reaction you get from young kids is so different. There’s so much joy in the room and it’s really fun to play for them.”
After the brief performance, elementary school students had the opportunity to ask Synergy Show Choir members questions like how they decide what songs to include and how often they practice.
The Synergy Show Choir elementary school tour has become an annual tradition. Schrader has fond memories of last year’s visits and was excited to perform for the younger students again. “I had a lot of kids that I babysit tell me that they loved it and my mom actually heard other parents talking about it. So it’s a pretty popular thing now.”