Prior to the holiday break, the DMHS chapter of Tri-M (Music Honors Society) released a video of its members performing holiday carols from home. Since they could not perform live due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Music Director Gary Hollander thought that compiling a bunch of holiday carols performed by his students into one video would be the next best thing. And it was. Vocal Synergy, DMAE’s a cappella group, also participated in the video and sang some holiday carols. Together, these musicians and singers worked hard to bring about a successful and uplifting virtual performance!

“I think the virtual holiday music concert was a success and did exactly what we wanted it to do: provide holiday music to the community,” Dr. Hollander said. 

Despite the limitations of now being a virtual music program, both Tri-M and Vocal Synergy were proud that their efforts paid off since the students and faculty of DMAE were able to enjoy holiday music.

“The virtual holiday performance went great! I was satisfied with how it was received, especially Vocal’s video,” senior Jeo Dela Cruz, a member of Vocal Synergy, commented. “We were able to learn and push out that video within a few days! It was a great achievement for everyone involved, since it was one of our first virtual performances,” he added.

Moving forward, both Tri-M and Vocal Synergy hope to continue to showcase their love for music to the school and community. Both student groups have adapted to the changes brought by the pandemic by meeting regularly on Teams to discuss how they can continue to serve the community through music. 

“The music program electives have become a very limited part of the school, and COVID-19 has worsened the options. However, everyone who is still involved is passionate and doing their best to keep it alive,” Jeo remarked.

In fact, Vocal Synergy is currently preparing to submit a performance video to The Varsity Vocals International Championship of High School A Cappella (ICHSA), which is an a cappella competition. In addition, Tri-M is planning on hosting a virtual coffee house in the spring, which will be a great way for students who are not in the music program to perform.