By Rachel Bracker
Editor-in-Chief
High school is often a time for finding a community, be it through academics, extracurriculars, or special interests. Senior Caroline Olsen found such a community through singing.
Olsen has sung in the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus since fifth grade, vocal ensemble since freshman year, Mira Costa Coterie since its founding her sophomore year and the Trinity Lutheran Church choir since second grade. She is the vocal ensemble’s alto section leader.
“When we first moved here, I didn’t have any close friends. When I joined LACC, it wasn’t just that I had friends in the choir, I started getting more friends at school,” Olsen said.
She has sung in multiple state and national honor choirs since sixth grade. She also sang in the Manhattan Beach Middle School Senior Wave Chorale and Madrigals in seventh and eighth grade.
“I first moved to Manhattan Beach when I was six, and started attending Trinity Lutheran Church, where we met Carla Devine, the director of the youth choirs at the church,” Olsen said.
“She encouraged my parents to have me participate. I loved the choirs, and after several years, I saw the LACC perform at the church. Carla encouraged me to audition. I’ve been hooked since.”
Caroline loves choir because she loves singing, but feels self-conscious doing it solo. She also has gotten the opportunity to tour with her choirs, something only well-known soloists do.
“Going on a tour is the most stressful thing ever. It’s so fun, but you would never believe how much sleep you’re going to lose, and all the rehearsing you’re going to do. Mostly, it creates a strong bond between the members, being stuck together for so many days,” Olsen said.
She said one that one of the most interesting aspects of touring is how different regions react to her touring choir.
“In the small town of Sitka, Alaska, we were received very well and our concerts were well attended, as they don’t have visiting choral groups often,” she said.
“When we visited Italy, we attended a festival. The venue was amazing, and the concerts were packed. There were many choirs, and an enormous group of people came to see us, hundreds of people, even though none of them knew us personally. Here, some people have difficulty getting their parents to attend concerts.”
Choir members say that Olsen’s dedication to music stands out. She once noted (to the amazement of her peers) that the choir was “eight cents” flat, meaning that they were singing eight tenths of a percent off of a note.
“Caroline knows everything about choir. She’s amazing. She’s like a mini-Mr. Hayden,” said vocal ensemble alto and senior Emily Wibberley.
Olsen aspires to be a choral director after college. She said she wanted to be a singer when she joined LACC, but decided against it because she doesn’t like acting or staging, just singing.
“When I reached high school, I decided performing wasn’t going to be my thing and that I’d rather be in choir for the rest of my life,” Olsen said.
Olsen’s current choral experience have shaped her current musical interests. She likes various genres of music, from romantic pieces to world music.
“I sing different types of music with different choirs. In LACC, we’ve sung a lot of weird contemporary and world music since our director went to Brazil. At Mira Costa, Mr. Hayden loves the big romantic lush stuff, a more standard choral repertoire,” she said.
“The world music is really, really fun to learn, but you can’t beat performing something that sounds beautiful, that fits into your voice,” said Olsen.
Olsen said that as she’s grown older, she thinks more about what she’s singing. She pays attention to the meanings of songs and the combinations of notes in pieces.
“It’s important to think about emotion in romantic music. There are also songs that are purely for fun that don’t necessarily have a deeper meaning. I once sang a song called ‘Chili con Carne,’ right after Pergolesi’s ‘Stabat Mater,’” Olsen said.
She said that everybody loves using their voice, and singing is simply an organized way of speaking. She believes that people enjoy singing because it teaches them how to use their voice.
“Music can take me anywhere. I don’t have to be in any sort of mood to begin with, and it can have a huge emotional effect,” Olsen said. “I just love singing.”
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