The Teller Chorus, Williston’s co-ed chorus, has experienced a tremendous amount of success in recent years. Originally started as a way for the Caterwaulers, the male chorus, and Widdigers, the female chorus, to practice singing with all four vocal parts — soprano, alto, tenor, and base — the Teller Chorus has quickly expanded to include students and even faculty with no prior musical background. Now everyone can learn more about music and express themselves through singing.

Teller Chorus has also worked to incorporate students who had wished to take Caterwaulers or Widdigers but could not fit the class into their schedules.

Regarding students with little to no knowledge of music, Calvin Ticknor-Swanson ‘16 says, “My first meeting was daunting for sure. It’s a little overwhelming at first, but Mr. Harper is so fun and energetic that you end up learning pretty quickly.”

Under the leadership of Mr. Joshua Harper, the chorus has grown from thirty-three members in the fall of 2013 to seventy-eight members this fall. Participation was so much more than they had originally anticipated that the practice location had to be moved from Reed 213 to the Phillip Stevens Chapel.

When asked about this year’s peak in sign-ups, Mr. Harper said, “I think it’s just because people are really excited about singing here at Williston, which is so cool to me, and it’s so exciting to see that enthusiasm. The Caterwaulers and Widdigers have also been doing a great job at recruiting people to come.”

Although sign-ups for Teller Chorus have drastically increased this past year, there are still a handful of students out there who want to sign up but are worried that their lack of musical knowledge or singing ability will hold them back.

To these people, Caroline Borden ‘16 says, “I’d say definitely join it! I’ve already told all my friends who’ve said, ‘I can’t sing, like I don’t want to sing.’ I’ve made all of them join already. It’s a lot of fun and there are so many people who’ve never sang before in an organized chorus or anything. It’s just a good experience.”

There were also a large number of athletes at the Teller Chorus rehearsal last Tuesday. Mr. Harper said, “I think athletes especially are really able to appreciate choir because at the end of it, they’re both trying to do the same thing. It’s a group of people, coming together, forming a team, and trying to accomplish something.”

At some schools, the distinction between athletics and the arts run deep. However, at Williston, this is not the case, and it is extremely evident in the Teller Chorus. The distribution of athletes to art students is pretty even during rehearsals on Tuesday.

Mr. Harper says, “That whole idea of comradery and doing things together, runs really parallel in sports teams and chorus. And there’s no need for a distinction. You should be able to be an athlete and an artist. And I love that about Williston. That everyone believes that. And now that Teller Chorus has many of our top athletes in it, it proves that.”

Although the number of students participating in Teller Chorus has definitely gone up, the number of faculty members in the chorus is still low.

Mrs. Martha McCullagh, a  faculty member and also an active member of the Teller Chorus says, “I started because I had seen Mrs. Sawyer in it the spring before, and she just looked like she was having such a good time. As I was watching the concert I thought, ‘You know, I want to do that.’”

Asked about why she thinks there is not more faculty involvement in the chorus, she says, “Unfortunately, as much as we all like to really be involved in the fun stuff, sometimes it is just another hour that needs to go into class planning, or into coaching, or into grading, and it’s hard to take that one additional hour.”

The Teller Chorus is currently preparing for their upcoming show, Songs of My Soul on November 13th at 7:30pm in the Phillips Stevens Chapel. The chorus meets every Tuesday night from 6:30pm to 7:30pm and welcomes anyone at any level of singing ability to join them.