One of the things that this school is famous for is its music program. Whether it’s the band, the orchestra or the choir, the music programs here are consistently excellent. Part of what makes these programs so strong are the dedicated and hard-working members. Senior Bradley Davis has carried these characteristics ever since he joined. He has developed these skills over a great deal of choir experience.
“I have been doing it on and off since 3rd grade, but I have done it all four years of high school and I plan to continue it through college,” Davis said.
While Davis does enjoy the class, it is not his favorite part of the choir program.
“I enjoy the class, but it’s the people that make the difference. Everyone there is super nice. It’s really easy to make friends, and everybody likes each other,” Davis said. Davis also said that choir is one class that really embodies the saying, “you get out what you put in.”
“You can kind of do as much or as little as you want to because you can sign up to sing the national anthem or sing at events… you can get as much out of it or as little out of it as you want,” Davis said.
While this may make it seem like an easy class, Davis said that there are tough moments.
“When you are working on a hard piece, the toughest part is perfecting it. You have to work on dynamics, on tone, on pitch, on everything. You can get to the point of where you can do a piece and you can get through it just fine, but actually making it perfect is the hardest part,” Davis said. While some people need practice in order to become a good singer, Davis has always had a talent for it.
“In seventh grade, I found that I had a knack for it. I enjoyed it a lot; I just like singing,” Davis said. Davis also added that choir does a good amount of traveling.
“We will have our normal concerts that are school sponsored, but then every year we go on a trip. We’ve gone to Philadelphia, New York and Tennessee in the last three years and during the New York and Tennessee trips, we competed in competitions with other schools from the same region. All of them got judged and ranked. We also have Assessment, which is something we do with a couple other Fairfax and Arlington schools,” Davis said.
One of the more overlooked parts of Yorktown is the performing arts programs. Consistently, the students in performing arts produce impressive and excellent works, which wouldn’t be possible without their hard work.Through his time at Yorktown, he has been a dedicated member and leader of the choir.
