Choir

Choir is the vocal music program at Palms.

It is not being offered for the 2023-2024 school year.

Choir Overview

Choir is a year-long performance class that teaches the basics of good choral singing and basic musicianship. Students learn and perform a varied repertoire throughout the year that includes songs in different styles and languages, representing different historical periods. In addition to the enjoyment of making music together, they learn how to sing with proper vocal technique and how to read music.

Choir teaches students the importance and necessity of unity and teamwork. Together they experience the satisfaction of achieving improvement/excellence over time through hard work and discipline. Choir students become sharper listeners, better audience members, and develop an increased appreciation for music.

Each class begins with vocal warm-up exercises, followed by practice on specific choir pieces. Students learn to read music and the mechanics of proper voice control, including how body position and posture can improve their singing ability. They sing to piano accompaniment.

Music selections are rotated so that multi-year choir students sing new music each year they are at Palms. An emphasis on multicultural music, especially in Spring semester, leads to a variety of styles, from folk songs to traditional spirituals and more. While students sing, they not only read music, keep in harmony, use proper tempo and dynamics, but they sing in many languages.

What Do Students Think of Choir?

Most choirs just teach you how to sing certain songs. The Palms choir teaches you how to sing, read music, exercise your voice, and other ways to improve your singing. -- Lia G.

I enjoyed my growth in confidence and making new friends. When you join a choir, we all start off as strangers, but at the end we are like a big family! It's all about teamwork! -- Geolina I.

Singing + Mrs. Chi = Tons of fun! -- Mackenzie S.

Off-Campus Performances

Mar Vista Community Fall Festival

Advanced Choir has a tradition of performing at the Mar Vista Community Fall Festival in October. (The choir will not be performing this year, however.)

The Festival is held at Mar Vista Park (on Palms Blvd. west of Sawtelle Blvd.)

LAUSD Choral Festival

LAUSD provides annual Instructional Choral Festivals during April or May.

Choir ensembles from participating secondary schools perform for each other and are critiqued by choral experts. Each ensemble is also give the opportunity to work with one of the judges in a clinic session.

Palms Middle School has been proudly hosting LAUSD Choral Festivals for a number of years.

Elementary Schools

Students in Beginning Choir classes usually take walking field trips to Clover Elementary School and Palms Elementary School to perform for 5th graders. The Advanced Choir usually takes a bus trip to Castle Heights Elementary School and Overland Elementary School (on a single day). These events sometimes coincide with the Palms Roadshow.

In addition to singing, some Palms students give testimonies, sharing what they've learned and why they like Choir.

These excursions give Palms students a chance to perform for a younger audience. They also let 5th grade students learn about Palms and its choirs. Some of these students choose Palms and its Choir elective as they enter 6th grade the next year.

The songs performed at elementary schools depend on the schedule, but usually include music from the Pops Concert and Winter Concert and sometimes from the Spring Concert. Advanced Choir performances may include singers from the Vocal Solo and Ensemble Concert.

See the Concerts page for the schedule of Choir concerts.