By Kaitlyn Ngo and Elise Tran, Staff Writers
Last Friday, Fountain Valley High School [FVHS] kicked off their last showcase for the Spring Concert entitled “My Feet on the Ground…Head in the Clouds” directed by Kevin Tison accompanied by Assistant Directors Christine Li and Emilio Valdez.
Opening the show, concert choir headlined with “9 to 5” from 9 to 5 with soloists Damon Dahl, Jonathan Nguyen, Jaclynn Sheppard, Mahek Y., and Rachael Matthews, the night began with a bang as the bright colored lights and rhythmic beat garnered the attention of the audience.
Another highlight of the concert was the “Brotherhood of Man” from Just How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, from the Baron Choir with soloists Alex Smilor and Adrik Torres. The boys’ infectious enthusiasm and energy radiated and spread throughout the room as they belted this quirky tune.
“Coffee in a Cardboard Cup” from 70, Girls, 70, earned a big round of applause and the approval of the audience with soloists, Hannah Dahl, Sarah Holbrook, Emma Lara, Ellen Johnson, Victoria Tran, and Kneesa Hougen. Les Chanteurs gave an outstanding performance with strong vocal accompanied by supporting choreography. The girls captured the attention of the audience with their attitudes and notable stage presence.
Continuing into the night, “Casualty of Love” from The Wedding Singer, was also a highlight from the Baron Choir with soloists Jay Allen and Kainoa Shintaku. The Baron Choir rounded out the show with their comical rendition of the song, dressed in suits and clapping to the beat.
Ending the first half of the night, concert choir closed with “You will be Found” from Dear Evan Hansen which featured the talented voices of Jonathan Tsai, Precious Oweiss, Matthew Caha, Nicole Cerda, EmilAllen, and Phiona Reilly. Starting with a single spotlight on an individual and growing into a crowd, the wholesome performance brought everyone in the room together as one.
The second half of the night featured the FVHS’s famed troubadours with a whimsical, magical Disney theme. The night started out with an uplifting rendition of “Whistle while you Work”.
The costumes in the beginning of this half were simplistic with various colorful shirts to match the eccentricity of Walt Disney paired with black pants or skirts.
The stand out performance of the night was senior Tricia Tran’s performance of “Reflections” from Mulan. Her red outfit beautifully matched with the mood and the song and the spotlight captured her emotions with perfection. Tran’s strong voice filled the concert hall and embodied Mulan.
Another beautiful performance was “I See the Light” from Tangled performed by sophomore Marley Green. The set up and the lighting truly matched with the Tangled movie and even sitting in the back section, it felt like you were right up there with them. Before the song began, the lights dimmed and fluorescent lanterns dimly lit up the concert hall by “floating” around. This piece was also an acapella piece creating the moment to be even more surreal than it already was.
One performance that was sure to make everybody laugh was “Pink Elephants” from Dumbo. The Troubadours got creative with this one and everyone had a chuckle. The lights went out and the singers on the stage held a glow in the dark board with parts of an elephant to mimic the elephant moving. On both sides of the concert hall, singers on both sides would shine a light on their faces every time they sang almost as if they were telling a spooky story.
Other performances included “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana, “When She Loved Me” from Toy Story 2, “Everybody wants to be a Cat” from The Aristocats, “Colors of the Wind” and “Just Around the Riverbend” from Pocahontas and more.
The second to last performance was a compilation of “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast in various languages including French, German and Japanese. The singers wore accessories to match their language of origin. The show finished off with all of the Troubadours standing on stage singing the iconic “When You Wish Upon A Star”. The crowd gave a deserving standing ovation making it a night to remember.
