<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By<\/strong> Magnolia Waller<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Photo by<\/strong> Magnolia Waller\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Quiet yet always there, CA Vocal is one of the somewhat overlooked CAs in the Willow community, despite having popular recitals, honor-winning singers, and having a hand in both the musical theater and band departments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n CA Vocal exists throughout the school community. When you hear singing in the halls, the background vocals of every musical, or holiday songs in assembly, they are part of it all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, what, exactly, is CA Vocal? What is that ominous choir giving music to the Willow halls? There is a perception of Vocal as small and somewhat rigorous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen I was in high school, I remember seeing the school choir sing an a cappella<\/em> piece at an assembly and thinking, it must be so fun to be able to perform that way. But I never even considered trying to join, because I thought you had to be \u2018a good singer,\u2019\u201d says Dr. Rota, vocal teacher and head of the department. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The literal size of the CA is small, with only one senior. The incoming ninth-grade class is larger. Students work diligently in the hallway, while some practice inside. Freshmen Rachaell Castro and Raegun England are among those outside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI didn’t really know if it was for me, but I wanted to try singing again, auditioned, and Dr. Rota gave me a good opportunity,\u201d explains freshman Rachaell Castro. \u201cI got to know so many people from different backgrounds. I liked to sing a lot but was unsure of myself. I thought I was going to be judged by people who do sports or something. I\u2019m happy I get to do what I love to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Castro originally pulled away from Vocal but eventually found her calling with the CA. Freshman Raegun England always knew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s like a family. No one’s mean. I look forward to it every day. I always really liked singing and took the elective.\u201d After the elective, England was drawn into the Vocal community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n From a freshman perspective, the CA is exciting and warm\u2013a \u201cfamily,\u201d as both Castro and England describe it. The upperclassmen perspective doesn\u2019t stray from the familial conception. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Willow community should know that everyone in the choir is very passionate about what we’re doing. It comes from the heart,\u201d says junior Alia Hemeid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, what does a typical CA Vocal class look like? Well, it could be a calm studying time or a cappella <\/em>performances of your favorite song. The class itself is usually loud and joyful, with random bursts of song and laughter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe sing for assembly or events, we go to celebrations after, we might bring food, share snacks, we\u2019re always singing, and we\u2019re playing instruments in our free time, just having fun,\u201d says Hemeid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to Block Party on November 19th, where the high school singers will perform \u2018White Winter Hymnal,\u2019 and the combined middle and high school choirs will join together\u2013over 100 singers!,\u201d Dr. Rota said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is no restriction on who can be a singer and who Vocal wants in their community.\u201cWe have large and small voices in the group\u2014some are ready to sing solos, and others prefer staying blended in the background. But all have strong musical ears, and they can sing amazingly,\u201d Dr. Rota said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Magnolia Waller Photo by Magnolia Waller\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Quiet yet always there, CA Vocal is one of the somewhat overlooked CAs in the Willow community,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":976,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archived","two-columns"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willowpostdiluvian.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/magnolia-6-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1705&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowpostdiluvian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowpostdiluvian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowpostdiluvian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowpostdiluvian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowpostdiluvian.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=961"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/willowpostdiluvian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":962,"href":"https:\/\/willowpostdiluvian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/961\/revisions\/962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowpostdiluvian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowpostdiluvian.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowpostdiluvian.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowpostdiluvian.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}