For the first time in Deep Run history, Cantate, a selective student choral group, performed at the Virginia Music Educators Association Conference.  Held at the Greater Richmond Convention Center Nov. 17-19, the conference brought in music educators from across Virginia to develop new strategies and practices for their teaching. On Nov. 19, Cantate performed a 30-minute program for these teachers.

   Amy El-Khouri, the choral director, has been supporting and directing Cantate since its beginning in 2002, when the school first opened. The group is selective, with video auditions required from each applicant in order to be admitted.

   “Cantate is our most advanced treble ensemble, so their music is harder than everyone else’s,” El-Khouri said.

  The word “cantate” is Latin for the phrase “Oh sing ye.”  The very first group of students in Cantate in 2002 picked the name. They are not the only group to perform at this year’s conference; there were universities, elementary schools, and other high schools on the program, but the process to be chosen was intensive. 

   “You have to apply to have your group perform. You have to submit video recordings from the two previous school years,” El-Khouri said.

   The video recordings are meant to “demonstrate quality of performance over an extended period of  time.” As the group was accepted to perform, it seems that they’ve proven this “quality of performance,” and El-Khouri was excited to demonstrate it. 

   “I think that Cantate is fantastic. I don’t think they sound like everybody else, and I’m excited  for music teachers across the state to hear them,” El-Khouri said.

   Along with the excitement came nervousness, which comes before any big performance. Unlike usual performances in front of official judges or family members, this audience was unique. 

   “It’s a little intimidating because it’s not a regular performance audience where there’s some people who are the kids’ parents or my parents. These are music teachers who, in a lot of cases, are choir directors and may even have performed these same pieces with their choirs before,” El-Khouri said. 

   According to El-Khouri, picking out the music pieces for this performance was “probably the hardest part.” They settled on songs that were all in English, as opposed to a different language like Latin or Spanish, so that it was more comfortable and easier listening for newer teachers in the audience. 

   “There is such a push in education now for multicultural learning and awareness that sometimes I find myself sitting through performances at these events where everything is in a different language, everything is new, and everything is different,” El-Khouri said. 

   In the final moments of the concert, when all is said and done, El-Khouri only had one wish for her students. 

   “I want the kids to feel good about [the performance] because they’ve worked really, really hard,” El-Khouri said.