The Independence High School Vocal Ensemble held its district concert with the middle and primary school choirs on February 26, 2026. Mrs. Nada Montgomery served as the accompanist for the 195 performers.
“We have been hosting a district choir concert for four years, and this is the third year we have held it in February,” explained choir director Mrs Gretchen Obrovac.
The concert, themed “United by Music,” celebrates friendship and shared humanity and songs were selected to match the theme, Obrovac explained. The vocal ensemble rehearsed during their third-period choir class and at home. As the concert approached, they held a rehearsal with all three choirs.
The high school vocal ensemble sang four songs in total, but only one by themselves: “Beautiful Creatures,” arranged by Roger Emerson, which is sung partially in Portuguese. The other 3 songs were sung with the other grades. “Ho Hey,” arranged by Mark Brymer, was sung by the vocal ensemble and the middle school choir. “Lean on Me,” arranged by Adam Anders and Tim Davis, and “Rainbow Connection,” arranged by Audrey Snyder were performed with the middle and primary school performers.
“It was one of my favorite concerts in recent memory, the songs were fun, we were well prepared, and it was a nice, quick 45-minute show,” Obrovac commented.
“My favourite song that we did was Beautiful Creatures,” freshman Angelina Zogbi said.
“My favourite song was Ho Hey by the Lumineers, and I liked singing Lean on Me specifically with the Middle and Primary school kids,” freshman Della Hanawalt stated. “It was like looking at our younger selves and the people that are going to be in the program in the future, and knowing that they can ‘Lean On’ us if they ever need anything.”
The high school vocal ensemble will next perform during their spring break trip to Disney World.
