Elkhorn’s best singers will get to shine on Omahas’s biggest stage as part of the Choral Collaborative. EHS will join with seven area high schools to perform with the Omaha Symphony Sunday, November 13th at the Holland Performing Arts Center. It begins at 2:00pm and they are performing a 2 ½ hour piece. This is the first Choral Collaborative EHS has participated in since 2017.
“We took a couple years off because of COVID and the restrictions that came with it.” Choir teacher Abby Thompson said.
The Choral Collaborative is organized by the Omaha Symphony which chose “Carmina Burana” for this year’s performance. The piece, which is based on a collection of 24 medieval poems, is written in both Latin and German, which presents a unique challenge for the singers.
“The kids are doing a really good job learning it,” Thompson said. “It’s been a lot of rehearsals with the same style of music. They sing for over an hour. It’s coming a lot faster to them as we progress.”
At over two hours, the performance is longer than a typical high school performance and requires great focus.
“We perform with the other schools and it’s pretty put together,” sophomore Phoenix Erwin said. “There are some rough spots where we have to collectively watch the maestro.”
The students participating from Elkhorn’s choir are excited because many of them may not get this type of experience again.
“It’s really a big experience considering we’ll be singing along with other high schools and the entire Omaha Symphony,” junior Logan Kieckhafer said. “It’s really a once in a lifetime experience.”
Thompson said she is excited for her students, especially because of the time and effort the choir has put into this piece.
“I’m really excited for them,” Thompson. “I know it’s a lot for them, especially since most of them haven’t done a piece like this before. Getting to sing with a professional symphony is a once in a lifetime opportunity for most of the students.”

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