Northwood reintroduced the mixed intermediate choir, Concert Chorale, taught by choir teacher Tyler Alessi this year.

After being discontinued in 2015 due to a decline in popularity, the choir was revived this school year because enrollment in vocal music expanded by about 30 students. Concert Chorale is an intermediate mixed choir made up of soprano, alto, tenor and bass vocals.

“Concert Chorale was one of the early choirs at Northwood,” Alessi said. “Students all get to sing together while building their skills so they can later enter into our advanced Chamber choir.”

The choir provides an opportunity for singers to experience mixed vocal groups without being in Chamber, the most advanced choir. Concert Chorale is especially beneficial for the basses and tenors, who previously only had two choir options: Bass Clef or Chamber.

“My experience in Concert Chorale has been great,” bass singer sophomore Matthew Chan said. “It’s a huge shift to go from only hearing guys singing all year to suddenly hearing four part harmonies that sound interesting and each play their own role in the song. I’m really excited for the Pops Concert because, with a mixed choir, we can do a larger variety of songs.”

Alessi was a member of Concert Chorale himself for three years during his time at Northwood, and he said that his positive experience in the class contributed to his decision to reintroduce it. Alessi views this year as an opportunity to regrow the program.

“I definitely want to continue it, and I’d love to get us back to the point we used to be,” Alessi said. “There were quite a few people in the program, and we were doing tours and singing in festivals, going around the country. That’s the long term goal: to build the program back up to its heyday.”

Check out Concert Chorale’s upcoming Fall Informance concert on Oct. 8.