How Choir and Music Have Helped Me Orchestrate My Life by Brandon

How Choir and Music Have Helped Me Orchestrate My Life by Brandon - December 2016 Scholarship Essay

Throughout my years at Valhalla High School my proudest accomplishment would have to be joining the choir and working my way up to become the president. I had been the president of my band in middle school, but even so, I initially resisted the idea of joining choir because I was afraid that I would be made fun of or because I didn't know if I'd be able to find friends. I was entering a high school where I didn't know anybody, and I didn't want to be labeled as the geeky choir kid from day one. I went into high school very anxious, but to my surprise, everything turned out great! The students in my choir ranged from tiny little freshmen like me, to seniors that were on the varsity football team, and all of them were incredibly friendly to me. While I was expecting to find a class of students who were just in choir for the easy A, I actually discovered that most people in the 100+ student program genuinely cared about the department.The biggest reason for this passion in the students was because of our choir director, Mr. Infantino.
Mr. Infantino was a college student at San Diego State University who was working on his Masters in Conducting, at the time. With all of the things he had going on, he shouldn't have been able to handle such a large program all by himself, but he managed it. What's more, his enthusiasm and love for music inspired me and helped my passion for music to grow more than I ever thought it would. It's because of him that I would keep signing up for choir year after year and why I really wanted to do all that I could to help the choir program and to see it grow even larger.
By my sophomore year, I was accepted into the Chamber Choir (the most advanced group) and I convinced my brother to join the program too. Being active in choir has given me so many different opportunities, that I couldn't even begin to list all of them. I've been able to sing backup to Susan Boyle along with the Chamber Choir, I've performed Mozart's entire requiem with my choir, an orchestra, and the San Diego State Choir, and I've been able to attend several choir festivals around San Diego. I'm not even mentioning our annual Fall, Winter, Spring, and Pops concerts. I even started a small quartet with my brother and two other friends, and we were able to perform outside of choir. We were asked to perform at a school talent show which was a fundraiser for the school library. The choir has truly been rewarding, and I was all too excited to see more people join as the years went by.
During the start of my senior year, it came time to choose executives for the choir team, and I decided that I wanted to run for president. I really wanted to see choir expand much more and I wanted the students in the department to have as strong a passion for music as me and Mr. Infantino did, and so I applied. Later on that month, I found out that I was made the president, and I was overjoyed. This leads to where I am today. As of now, I help to plan for concerts and book venues, but what I love doing the most is seeing people become excited about music. I created a singing competition between the classes that is a success, and I plan on trying to have students participate in choir, even outside of class. It really is one of the greatest joys to see people getting excited and working together, especially such a diverse group of students with different classes, grades, and personalities.
Mr. Infantino and the Vocal Music Department have helped me to grow in my love of music, and that's something that I'll hold on to for the rest of my life. This love of music has helped me to gain friends that I never would've met otherwise, to have the dedication to learn new instruments, and to pursue my passions, even if it means being a geek. My hope is that my passion for music and my dedication to what I care about will translate into my college life, and not just in the musical field, but also in my academics, sports, and my jobs. After all, it's much easier to work hard for the things that you love.