The WMS Choir held its Spring Concert on May 19, 2025. Mr. McGuire is the choir director, and he managed the concert.
Mr. McGuire, the director of the Spring Concert, explained why he chose each of the songs for the concert. “‘How Far I’ll Go’, which is one of our two traditions, we switch every year between doing ‘How Far I’ll Go’ and ‘Seasons of Love’. I call them our signature songs; they have great messages of inclusion, teamwork, and coming together. ‘Joshua’ was another song that I wanted to do. I did it a couple of years ago and wanted to bring it back this year. ‘What Was I Made For’ came from the Barbie movie.”
McGuire also likes to differentiate between song choices, bringing a multicultural flavor. He said, “Billie Eilish just brought home about seven awards this past weekend, so doing one of her songs is always a fun and challenging experience to inspire. ‘Music Everywhere’ was just a perfect opener for Music in Our Schools Month. ‘Bella Ciao’ was our challenge song; we wanted to do something in a foreign language, and I had a student who had been asking since sixth grade to do something in Italian.”
McGuire went on to explain how he helps students prepare for the concert. He said, “Being in the classroom, which I’m very proud of, is a safe space, but then coming to the stage and being vulnerable, it’s a big transition. I try to incorporate breathing exercises and posture exercises into my warmups because they serve as reminders not just when we’re on stage performing but also in our day-to-day activities that are important to help keep our cool and to stay bold and to stay confident on stage.”
Some students expressed concerns about being prepared. McGuire explained what he reminds his students, “I always constantly remind my students that nobody here wants to see you fail, nobody is driving across the state of New Jersey to see a random middle school choir perform.”
Lily Sofranko, a 7th-grade choir student, said, “When we are waiting in the cafeteria, I gather a group of people like my friends and we just all start singing together.”
Guilianna De Jesus, another 7th-grade choir student, says that the hardest part about being in choir is “[having] to know your singing range and memorizing the lyrics when it comes to the concert, like memorizing it in class is fine but you have to remember it at the concert.”
De Jesus also said that she joined the choir because “in my old school I used to do theater, choir, that was just really my thing. I used to do solos in front of the whole school. Yeah, it’s just my passion.”
McGuire explained what his advice would be to a nervous student. He said, “The best advice I have for my students is to learn how to take a compliment.”
