SLIDELL, La. (WGNO) — The Slidell High School Learning Community Choir is more than sparkling musicality. It’s an ensemble that aims to instill tolerance and unadulterated fun.
Melanie St. Cyr is the choir director and believes she’s living her childhood dream, saying “I’ve always wanted to be a music teacher, since I was in my very first choir in the fourth grade. These are amazing kids, and they love to sing.”
The choir performs four major concerts a year, where they lend their voices to the greater community of Slidell. Their repertoire comprises everything from traditional classical and choral compositions, to show tunes, Motown and modern songs.
Every year, they sing the 1934 holiday classic, “Winter Wonderland,” at their Christmas concert. This year, the concert takes place at 7 p.m. on Dec. 12 at the Slidell High School Auditorium.
Turraine Washington sings soprano in the choir and is the choir president and says, “every time I sing ‘Winter Wonderland,’ it feels snowy! It’s a snowy vibe that comes across. I feel happy, cheery and bright. It’s so wonderful seeing people’s faces smile and light up whenever they see us sing.”
With sopranos, tenors, basses, altos and young men and women, high school choir is a metaphor for society. Harmony is best reached when everyone works together and appreciates the mutual contributions of all. These are the sentiments of St. Cyr.
“I think music is vitally important in a high school setting because it teaches that if you have a lack of understanding for something, they you don’t get to understand how beautiful it is. I love that I can share this beautiful thing that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives,” says St. Cyr.
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