An Insight Into This Year’s Camber Choir

The Atlantic High School’s Chamber Choir entered the 2025-26 school year with enthusiastic goals and mindsets, a love for music, and a shared determination to grow alongside each other as individual vocalists and as a chorus. Before the fall concert, the ensemble—comprising some of the school’s most talented singers—set out to build their confidence, strengthen their musical independence, and develop a sense of unity that would carry them through the rest of the school year.

Countless members entered A Fall Concert with many personal goals alongside collective ones. Shauna Anderson summed up her thoughts before the group’s debut performance: “ To know my music so that I could help others.” That mindset on collaboration reflected the Chamber Choir’s spirit from day one—each performer working not only to perfect their own parts, but to support their peers in constructing a balanced and well-expressed sound.

The Chamber Choir’s first concert, held at 11 a.m. during the school day on October 21, 2025, was a little different from years past. HS Band Director, Jarrod O’Donnell, took over several music classes on short notice—including Chamber and Show Choir—but is not currently under contract to receive pay for those classes, for at least the first semester. The unusual performance time allowed the choir to share their work with fellow students and staff while staying within the school day—a creative solution to showcase the ensemble’s progress despite logistical challenges.

The program featured a variety of pieces, including “And So It Goes” by Billy Joel and Bob Chilcott, “Seasons” by Ola Gjeilo and Charles Anthoney Silverstrit, “Heartbeat Rhythm” by Andy Beck, “Rain Music” by Joseph Cotter and Victor Johnson, and “Shady Grove” by Emily Crocker. Among these selections, two scores stood out as clear favorites: “And So It Goes” and “Heartbeat Rhythm,” which tied at 25% each in a post-concert poll. “Heartbeat Rhythm went insano style,” joked Knox McCalla, capturing the high energy of the performance. Anderson added that she loved that And So It Goes was an a cappella piece, and it was “something that I somewhat connected with.”

The concert also spotlighted several vocal and instrumental features, including Zephyr Mitchell, Sophie Johnson, and Landyn Wiersma with vocal solos and duets on “And So It Goes,” Ismael Elba on Flute for “Seasons,” Fletcher Toft on Djembe, and Grace Mitchell on the Rain Stick for “Rain Music.”

The choir is already excited about what will happen next. Miley Winford shouted enthusiastically about “Christmas music.” Elba continued, “Just singing with the rest of the choir.” With the festive performances, the upcoming holiday concert is one of the semester’s highlights for many of the members.

In keeping with their strong commitment to the performing arts, over half of the Chamber Choir members—roughly 58%—also participate in other AHS music classes and related activities, such as Band and Show Choir. And a comparable proportion of respondents indicated that they preferred evening concerts over morning ones, which usually attracted larger, more community-focused audiences.

Despite the unusual timing of their debut performance, the Atlantic HS Chamber Choir’s enthusiasm and commitment were evident. The group anticipates a year full of harmony, development, and music that unites them as friends and singers after their impressive start.

An Insight Into This Year’s Camber Choir

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