In late February, Mayo’s Concert Choir had an opportunity to perform in one of the most beautiful buildings in town. On February 26, 2019, the Singing for Life Choral Festival took place at Assisi Heights Spirituality Center, a building primarily known for housing the Sisters of Saint Francis yet hosts plenty of other events including the aforementioned festival. The Mayo High School Concert Choir got to rehearse and perform partially with two other high school choirs in Minnesota as well as the local Choral Arts Ensemble and a professional Minneapolis-based chamber orchestra.

           “There’s so much resonance that we don’t have in our auditorium or classroom, so that experience of being able to hear your song just echo in the location is something every choir should experience,” Mrs. Humke, the Mayo High School Concert Choir director, said about the quality of the acoustics compared to the average high school auditorium. Commenting on the one-of-a-kind chance to work with so many other ensembles, she added, “We haven’t done anything combined with choir, orchestra, and other singers, and that is a very unique experience that every singer should have at some point in their life.”

           Shortly after the end of the normal school day, the Concert Choir packed up to head to Assisi Heights as they were the first to rehearse in the beautiful chapel in which they would eventually perform. After rehearsal both by themselves, then with the other three vocal groups as well as the orchestra, they gave the big performance, at 7:30 for their family and friends who attended. All four choirs involved in the festival had their own pieces to sing for the majority of the performance, but the conclusion involved everyone coming together to perform selections from Bach’s St John Passion. Without a doubt, it was a very enriching evening for all involved.