Music, bubbles and an animated story time filled the evening at Pahrump Valley High School on Tuesday, Oct. 6, as the choir presented a concert celebrating the fun of childhood. With student performances, familiar children’s songs, costumes and student-created posters, the program offered something for listeners of all ages.
“This is a night for the kids,” Mr. Gooch said as he opened the concert.
That theme carried throughout the evening, which began with two featured student performances before the full choir took the stage. Zoey Gonzalez opened with an original song, singing a piece she had written while accompanying herself on acoustic guitar. The solo gave the audience an opportunity to hear Gonzalez’s own music and offered a personal introduction to the night’s program.
Avah Resendiz and Ellarose Brondo followed with a duet of “All Things Bright and Beautiful.” The selection held a connection to Resendiz’s experience at All-State Choir, where she learned the song last year. Performing it together brought that experience to the PVHS stage as the pair shared the piece with the concert audience.
Before the full choir’s performance, Gooch introduced a surprise guest for a different kind of storytelling. His mother, Jocelyn Michael, took the stage to read The Pigeon Needs a Bath! Her animated delivery and different character voices brought the book to life, turning a portion of the concert into a shared story time.
The reading fit naturally into an evening built around children’s music and playful participation. Costumes and posters drawn by choir students added to the atmosphere, while bubbles brought movement and another element of fun to the performance.
Gooch selected audience members to serve as “bubble monitors,” inviting them to join the choir onstage and blow bubbles while the students sang. The activity gave members of the audience a role in the program and helped carry the concert’s theme beyond the music itself.
With Hannah Chamberlain serving as pianist, the choir’s selections included “How Far I’ll Go,” written by Lin-Manuel Miranda for Moana, along with “Peanut Butter Sandwich,” “Down by the Bay” and “Baby Beluga.” The program also included the lullaby “Duerme Te Mi Nino,” offering a change of pace among the evening’s lively and familiar selections.
The concert closed with “Rockin’ Robin,” an old favorite that proved popular with both the choir students and the crowd. Its upbeat finish brought the evening to a cheerful close after a program that made room for original songwriting, a duet, group singing and audience participation.
From Gonzalez’s acoustic opening to the final notes of “Rockin’ Robin,” the students shared more than a selection of songs. Their performances, artwork and playful presentation helped turn Gooch’s opening words into the evening’s guiding theme—a night for the kids, with plenty for everyone else to enjoy.
