In light of the performances and events the Oak Park Choir had to cancel due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Oak Park High School Choir Director, Heidi Cissell, commissioned famous composer, Dr. Michael John Trotta to compose a piece for the OPHS Choir.

According to Cissell, this plan was made with the intention of inviting at least four other high school choirs, two of our neighbors and two across the nation, who are also experiencing the loss of concerts and programs due to the coronavirus outbreak.

In this joint concert, the choirs of Agoura High School, Calabasas High School and OPHS in California are working with Central Regional High School and Scotch Plains Fanwood High School in New Jersey to present this “special” work composed by Trotta.

Trotta is a world-renowned composer, invited to conduct premieres of major works at concert halls such as Carnegie Hall and St. Paul’s Papal Basilica. According to OPHS Choir Director Heidi Cissell, Trotta, a former conductor and clinician, is becoming one of the most “exciting and prominent new composers of choral music.”

Some choir members said that a professional composer working with high schools across the nation as Dr. Trotta is doing was unexpected.

“I was really surprised to hear that Dr. Trotta was willing to work with us to create this recording,” senior Aashna Cheedu said. “Composers are really busy, so I definitely didn’t expect him to do this. But I’m really excited for it, and I can’t wait to hear how it ends up.”

According to Cissell, the composition of this piece was very intentional, for the purpose of supporting the student musicians impacted.

“The music of this performance, called ‘You Are My Refuge,’ based on Psalm 46, was
commissioned to bring hope and comfort to the over 100,000 public and private high school choir programs throughout the United States who were forced to close and cancel concerts, musical production performances and events due to the Coronavirus outbreak,” Cissell wrote in a statement about the piece.

The recordings from all of the 300 choir students involved in this project will be synced together by Dr. Trotta, which, according to Cissell, is a process that takes hundreds of hours. The recording will then be posted and made public on the composer’s Facebook page.

Some OPC members believe that this recording will help relieve some of the emotional issues caused by the pandemic.

“Finding out that a real composer was working with high school students to make a piece during this time was really cool. It kind of helps ease the anxiety of the whole situation, almost like we can just sing the problem away,” junior Benecia Jude said.

This project was supported in part by the family of John Corley, an Oak Park High School Choir fan and father of two choir members. Corley passed away from cancer in May 2019, but his wife Rosalie and daughters Alexandra and Francesca chose to, “[support] this project so that John’s love of music can be shared through … ‘You Are My Refuge’ with choirs all around the world.”

“[Corley was] always the number one fan, he would regularly arrive at concerts at least an hour early, because he had to have the best seats in the house. It is in this spirit that John’s family chose to contribute a donation raised in his memory to the OPHS Choir to support music-making for years to come,” Cissell wrote.

The virtual concert will be the product of input from five choral directors: AHS Choir’s Caroline Beal, CHS Choir’s Josh Barroll, CRHS Choir’s Beth Moore, SPFHS Choir’s Jan Allen and OPHS Choir’s Heidi Cissell. The final virtual performance of “You Are My Refuge” is expected to be made public somewhere around the 15th of May, 2020.

While many choir members are very excited for the opportunity to work with Dr. Trotta, some still miss being able to perform together.

“I’m so excited to be taking part in the virtual performance. It’s really special that Mrs. Cissell was able to reach out to Michael Trotta to compose this brand new piece for us, it’s really an honor,” junior Karen Dotan said. “Of course, it’s not the same as being all together, but it means a lot that we can bring some joy to each other and connect in song.”