How to Join Us

First of all, Congratulations! If you've made it this far, you're well on your way to joining a great program... just a few steps remain. It's easy to join a choir at HHS, and mostly involves talking to your counselor and asking him or her to sign you up! Afterwards, please stop by the choral office and say hello, so we can meet and welcome you, and if necessary, hear you sing. We have a spot in our program for any student, and we'd love to have you!

We find that there are a few frequently asked questions most students want answered before joining choir, so we've done our best to do so here. Please read on:

Can I still join choir, even if I've never sung a note before in my life?

Absolutely! We have a choir for every student at Highland, regardless of prior experience. If you've never sung before, we have two introductory groups just for you. In Chorale or Women's Chorus, we'll teach you the basic mechanics of singing, how to read music, how to be comfortable and classy on stage, and much more! Each year, a significant percentage of our new students have no prior singing experience. Trust us when we say you won't be alone!

Do I have to audition to be in choir?

Well, yes and no. If you are a beginning student, we do not need to hear you sing individually. Usually there are far too many new students at the beginning of the school year for us to hear everyone sing individually, at least right away. If you are joining mid-year, we'd certainly like to become acquainted with your voice and particular instructional needs, but if you have a deathly fear of singing by yourself, relax. We can work around it. If you are a student with some experience and are looking to join one of the advanced groups (Adv. Women's Choir, Concert Choir, or Adv. Vocal Ensemble), an audition is required. These will consist of standard vocalisations, sight reading, some music theory assessment, and a discussion about your prior singing experience. You do not need to prepare a song for this audition.

I want to join choir, but I don't think I can fit it in my schedule!

Much like Jello, there's always room for choir! High School is your time to branch out and experience all you can. In that spirit, there are a myriad of adults around you that can help you to fit everything you want to experience into your 7 hours a day at school. Firstly, and most importantly, talk to your counselor. They deal with this sort of thing all the time, and are experts at making it work. We have students in our program that are involved in virtually every activity imaginable, from honors/AP classes to student government to sports to drama/newspaper/speech to seminary to band and orchestra, and sometimes all of the above! We CAN make it work if you let us!

Can I be involved in choir and a sport at the same time?

Absolutely! (See above) We are enormously proud that our students are involved in so many important and varied activities. Not only can you be involved in choir and a sport at the same time, we encourage it!

Why should I/my student join choir?

This is the most common question we get asked, and it would take several webpages for us to completely answer it. But here goes...

Choir gives you a place to belong.
High School can be a scary time for a young person. Enormous buildings, multitudes of nameless, faceless people, and a different teacher and set of students in every class period can make it hard for a teenager to carve out a comfortable niche of friends and support at a time in their lives when they need it the most. Choir can give you a place to belong, friends to identify with, and positive support throughout your high school career. Our after-school activities give you a chance to meet and make friends with your classmates outside of school. Most of our students spend all four years with us and so are surrounded by the same group of friends and teachers for at least one hour of their day, every day, for their entire high school career. Our students form lasting friendships that go beyond the classroom and beyond their short time with us.

Studying music makes you smarter.
Yes, you read that right. Scientific studies reveal that students who study music are more adept at mathematics, logical reasoning skills, and the language arts. A music student is far more likely to earn A's and B's than a non-music student, and music students score on average 100 points higher on the SAT than their non-musical peers. Go here for more information!

The choirs, bands and orchestra's at Highland are excellent.
Singing with us will give you the opportunity to be a part of something truly great, but more importantly, will teach you how to apply the methods used to reach excellence to the rest of your life.

                                                But most importantly...

    Girls love a guy that can sing to them. Especially if he's wearing a tuxedo.
                                                'Nuff said.