Dr. Julie Hagen conducts Chamber Chorus during an evening rehearsal.
From a Hawaiian rendition of “Over the Rainbow” to the French Canadian folk song “J’entends le Moulin,” students in Choate’s Festival and Chamber Choruses will showcase an exciting range of pieces at the upcoming Choral Concert. Taking place at Seymour St. John Chapel on Friday, May 5, the concert will consist of six songs from different genres and cultures.
The concert will be led by Choral Director Dr. Julie Hagen, who is new to the School this year. With a bachelor’s and master’s degree in music, a doctorate degree in music education and choral conducting, as well as 20 years of experience in music education, Dr. Hagen comes to Choate with a lot to offer.
Reflecting on her first year as Choral Director, Dr. Hagen said, “I’ve loved it. I think the kids are fantastic. They’re talented, but more importantly from that, I just love who they are as people.” Dr. Hagen also appreciates the experience of conducting singers from all over the world. “I’ve had such an international contingent of students singing, which is fabulous because we do pieces from different parts of the world.”
Students who are in the choruses love working with their new Choral Director, too. Bass singer Eric Yang ’25 said, “Dr. Hagen makes the choir experience a remarkably fun and rewarding one. Her professionalism and kind attitude toward students makes every rehearsal enjoyable.”
When creating the program for this concert, Dr. Hagen focused on finding music that the students enjoy singing rather than looking for songs that fit a specific theme. After finding these pieces, she spent hours conducting “score studies,” during which she delved deeper to determine parts for the four vocal ranges. Through the process, she asked herself, “What do I want to do with this piece? What parts should come out more? How do we shape it artistically? What’s my end goal?”
Chamber Chorus rehearsals are an hour-long and meet three days a week. The rehearsal process is often broken down into two parts, beginning with sectional practices, in which each section rehearses their individual parts, and followed by sections reconvening to practice harmonizing and performing the piece together.
Tenor Oliver Nappi ’25 said that Chamber Chorus rehearsals have been very “upbeat and eventful as [they] try to piece together more complicated songs.”
The rehearsal process for the performance also came with its obstacles. Yang said, “The most challenging part about rehearsal is when we come together after sectionals. Being perfect with singing each section does not mean it 100% will work together.”
Along with the singing, Dr. Hagen also prepared several physically challenging tasks for the Chamber Chorus. Alto Norah Davis-Jeffers ’26, shared, “‘J’entends le Moulin’ is a piece we have been working on that includes physical percussion.” The need to fully understand the rhythm of the music “has caused the preparation to be extra challenging” for him.
Dr. Hagen hopes that the audience sees the joy performers have in singing. “I do think that the purpose of being an artist is to create more sentient human beings and to just think deeply about how we’re feeling about things,” she said. “I hope that just as the choir has been moved as we prepare, and that I as the teacher have been moved, the audience can be equally moved by sitting there immersing themselves in this choral experience.”
