Maple Grove High School student Olivia Rocha (seen on the bottom row, third from the left) sings with Angelica Cantanti, a youth choir, which is set to celebrate its 45th season with two shows (4:30 and 7:30 p.m. December 7) at the Ordway. Photo: Steven Garcia
For Olivia Rocha, an 11th grader at Maple Grove Senior High School, stepping on to the stage with youth choir Angelica Cantant (angelicacantanti.org) fuels her purpose. The choir will celebrate its 45th season at the Ordway at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. December 7. In her own words, Olivia shares her experience with the choir.
What drew you to Angelica Cantanti, and how has singing with the choir shaped your identity as a young artist?
I started in Angelica Cantanti my eighth grade year when I was strongly encouraged by my family to join a choir … Although at first, I was scared out of my mind to join a community of strangers, it has become my community. When I started, I was very insecure in my vocal skill, but I was always pushed to do better. This pushing not only increased my confidence as a singer but also as a person. Learning difficult music involves uncertainty and self-doubt, however, it’s so rewarding to see our hard work pay off. There’s so much pride in knowing you persevered to create something beautiful together as a group. The skill of sticking with it through the struggle and self-doubt is a lesson I’ll keep with me for the rest of my life. Also the standard of high professionalism in Angelica has encouraged me to take music seriously because it’s not just a hobby, it’s a passion and it has purpose.
What are you looking forward to most for your upcoming performance at the Ordway?
I’m looking forward to experiencing singing at the Ordway again but this time with our amazing new director, Dr. Joseph Kemper. On one hand, it’ll be familiar, but on the other, it will be totally new. I’m excited to showcase our new music and show everyone that we’re still the same Angelica. No matter the director, we’re all just people who love to make music and do it well.
Can you describe a moment during a performance that has stuck with you?
… Closing up the final song led by our longtime director, Philip Brown. We had just found out moments before that our beloved director would be leaving the organization. This had us all in tears, myself included, as I was inconsolable. Even the burly security guy tried to hand me a tissue. Mr. Brown not only cultivated a beautiful, warm community full of joy but also expected such excellence from us. He knew we were always capable of more. He would share meaningful stories from his personal life, always connecting it back to the music. He made sure we were singing with purpose and emotion. The particular piece we were singing was called Turning by Joni Jenson. This was one of those struggle pieces we spent months learning. Musically, it was quite difficult, but it became my favorite song especially in those last moments. It was a stunning symphony of passionate voices singing about turning the world around, all while knowing Mr. Brown was a man who turned our worlds around and inspired us to do the same.
