Warrior Chorus takes over Washington, DC

Linh Dao

The Mighty Warrior Chorus, directed by Mr. Morgan Day, delivered an outstanding performance this past Tuesday on December 6^th for the Kazakh Embassy in Washington DC. As the embassy, Kazakh-Americans, and a few distinguished guests gathered to celebrate Kazakhstan’s 25^th year of independence from the Soviet Union, our Warriors sang to celebrate joy, pride, unity, culture, peace, and the holiday season.

Henrico High chorus students gather in Washington D.C. for a concert. Photo from Henrico County Public Schools’ Twitter page.

To start off the night, the choir performed the upbeat piece, “Rhapsody in Rhythm.” The fun-spirited nature of the song was reflected through each choir member and surely set a positive tone for the rest of the performance.

Two speeches were then delivered by a representative of the Kazakh embassy and a representative of the United States government. Both touched on the meaningful relationship between Kazakhstan and the United States that has benefitted both countries through the years.

Fitting to the speeches, the Warrior Choir was joined by a Kazakh children’s choir centered in the DC area to sing both Kazakhstan’s and the United States’ national anthems. The two songs embodied the pride and unification of the Kazakh and American people.

As an ode to the rich culture of Kazakhstan, Henrico’s choir then performed “Ush Konyr”, a much loved pop anthem of many Kazakh people. This song, along with the Kazakhstan’s national anthem, was transliterated and largely taught by sophomore Aipara Kulzhanova, an extremely talented Kazakh-American choir member.

As choir member senior, Dahsom Choi, notes, “We couldn’t have done this show without her.”

When asked about the experience, Kulzhanova stated that, “it was a great way to learn about a different culture and language.  We weren’t given a lot of time to prepare, but I think we did a great job with the performance.  Everyone worked really hard to learn all the lyrics.”

The Mighty Warrior Chorus then shifted to celebrating American culture by performing the soulful classic, “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

To end the night, the choir sang a jazzy version of “Jingle Bells” that had audience members nodding their heads and singing along in excitement for the holiday season.

Choir member senior, Pratyusha Chaluvadi commented on the event as she stated that “this was the first time I performed for such an important event, and it was very exciting for that reason. I think our chorus did an amazing job, since we have been practicing diligently for this concert.”

Overall, the event was a success. Both performers and listeners gained valuable experiences thanks to efforts made by the Kazakh Embassy, director Morgan Day, sophomore Aipara Kulzhanova, and the Mighty Warrior Chorus as a whole.