The Choir and Band Collage Concert was Friday, October 14 in the Dakota High School Auditorium. They performed the many songs they have been working hard to learn.  

Dakota Bands that performed included Concert Band Blue, Concert Band Green, Symphonic Band, and Wind Ensemble, along with the Cougar Marching Band. In addition, the Men’s Chorus, Treble Chorus, Women’s Varsity Choir, Mixed Varsity Choir performed as well as the Unaccompanied Minors and Dakota’s Show Choir. Both the Unaccompanied Minors and Dakota’s Show Choir are audition-only after school clubs and the rest are choir classes that Dakota offers. 

The students in the choir classes wore suits or black dresses with sashes that corresponded with their classes. Treble had green, Women’s Varsity had purple, and Mixed Varsity was in blue. Show Choir shined in suits or sparkly blue dresses, and the Unaccompanied Minors had on all black with bright spots of color.  

Band Director Mr. Makarewicz and Choir Director Mr. Dargis put together a fantastic concert. They enthusiastically conducted the songs, and when leading, Mr. Dargis even wore a chef’s hat for “Le Festin” and a crown for “You’ll Be Back.” In between songs while the students prepared behind the curtain, they entertained the audience by sharing more about the songs and the work they put into them. All songs used were from movies, tv shows, musicals, video games, and even TikTok. 

The Dakota Bands and Choirs opened the night together with “Songo di Volare”, a song in Italian from the video game Civilization VI. “Sono de Volare” was the favorite of Dominic Scherer who plays the trombone in Wind Ensemble. He said, “I liked that piece of music because it sounded amazing when it was played with both the band and all the choirs together.” 

Concert Band Blue played a dramatic song from the Disney+ tv series The Mandalorian. 

Men’s Chorus came on stage wearing crowns and the soloists Donevin Jozlin, Denny Teolis, Keegan Amez, and Salvatore Vitale wore capes for their song “You’ll Be Back” from the musical Hamilton.

Treble Chorus sang “Surface Pressure” from the Disney movie Encanto. Sophia Battaglia had a solo in it. Freshman Nadia Bronzino said, “My favorite part was being able to perform with everyone including the band. The feeling of finally combining our work and hearing the finished product really makes me happy. I also love the adrenaline right before we perform, it’s like getting ready for what we’ve been working for.” 

Concert Band Green played the suspenseful Pirates of the Caribbean theme song from the movie, with solos from Andrew Thamarus on the euphonium and Nate Yearkey on the trumpet. 

Women’s Varsity tackled “Le Festin” from Ratatouille in French with a solo from Ava Clifford.  

The Symphonic Band played the familiar and enjoyable “Instant Concert”. 

Mixed Varsity Choir sang an impressive rendition of Beethoven’s “Acapella 5th”.  

Senior Mixed Varsity member Jeff Garrant said, “I really liked the complexity of the songs we did this year in Mixed Varsity, and I also liked meeting the new freshmen and seeing them experience their first Dakota choir concert.” 

Mia Serra, Mixed Varsity and Show Choir member, agreed. She said, “I really liked our choir concert this year! The songs were all so fun to do and it was so cool to sing with all the choirs together. I also really enjoyed singing with the underclassmen in show choir because we all made our set such an incredible number that the audience loved.” 

Wind Ensemble played “See Rock City” with solos from Jake Gorecki, Connor Billings, and Aviana Anton on the alto saxophone, trumpet, and flute respectively.  

The Varsity Choirs and Bands beautifully combined again to perform Dakota’s traditional “O Fortuna”. 

During the fifteen-minute intermission, a bake sale was held in the atrium. There were many delicious treats available including cookies and other tasty baked goods.  

The Unaccompanied Minors, the acapella group, sang a TikTok medley arranged by Mr. Dargis.  

Dakota’s Show Choir sang the theme songs for many tv shows including The Big Bang Theory, Full House, and Friends. Mr. Boni, the theater director, choreographed the Show Choir songs.

For the big finale, the Marching Band came out and performed what would be familiar to anyone who came to a Dakota football game. They started with the Dakota Fanfare as they do every football game including the drum line and trombone suicides. In an exciting surprise, the lights were raised and the entire marching band was brought out into the audience and stood in the isles to perform Dakota’s fight song and their set “Under the Red Hood” inspired by the story of Little Red Riding Hood.

Zach Veal who is part of the Concert Band Green said, “My favorite part of the Collage Concert was the Marching Band doing the fight song and the Little Red Riding Hood songs.”  

Upcoming Choir Dates: 

The Show Choir will be performing at the Macomb Township Tree Lighting on Friday December 2. 

In case you missed the Collage Concert, the Holiday Choir Concert is set for Friday December 16.  

Shrek The Musical performances will be on the first two weekends: February 2-4, February 9-11. 

Upcoming Band Dates: 

At the concert it was announced that the Dakota Marching Band was invited back to perform in the Thanksgiving Day Parade this year on Thursday November 24. Later they will travel to the house of people who Won the Band to perform on their street.  

On Sunday December 11 the Concert Bands will have their Winter Concert.