By Taylor Kelley
News Editor
Costa students from choir, orchestra and band performed Valgrams on Tuesday for students and staff on campus from first through sixth period.
The four Valgram groups included Coterie, the upper voices a cappella group; Muscle, the lower voices a cappella group; the chamber orchestra; and the Sax Pack. A Valgram from any group cost $5.
“Valgrams is a really fun holiday tradition, and I love how it makes Valentine’s Day at Costa special and festive,” said junior Jessilyn Reyes. “Being a part of Coterie and doing Valgrams is a way to become more involved in the school while doing something I love.”
Coterie is an a cappella group consisting of nine students. This year their songs included Destiny’s Child’s “Bills Bills Bills;” “Fallin For Ya” from “Teen Beach Movie;” and Stephen Sanchez’s “Until I Found You.” According to sophomore Samantha Probst, the group usually votes on songs and starts preparing when the new year starts.
“I love getting to share our talents with students who might not know about our group,” said Probst. “And [I love] finally hearing all the harmonies come together!”
According to sophomore Jaxon Stroyke, Muscle has also been preparing since the beginning of the semester. The group sang Blue Swede’s “Hooked on a Feeling;” John Legend’s “All of Me;” and Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know.” “It’s fun when you’re in there singing, but running around campus is a bit stressful,” said Stroyke. “My favorite part about Valgrams is going into the classes and seeing how different each of the reactions were.”
According to Stroyke, Muscle’s profits go toward buying arrangements and composition for their concerts. According to Reyes, the profits made by Coterie usually fund the program’s activities, such as buying new music or participating in bonding events.
“We use [the money] to buy new music for later in the year and save a lot of it to put back into Coterie later,” said junior Alli Custer. “More so than the money, Valgrams for us is about sharing what we do with everyone else.”
According to senior orchestra co-president Aidan Murphy, the chamber orchestra received 104 orders, and to accomplish this, chamber orchestra split up into two groups. On violins, violas and cellos, chamber played Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love;” Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up;” and “Bésame Mucho” by Luis Miguel. The chamber orchestra spends about two to three weeks prepping for Valgrams.
“We plan out the two groups and how to play the music,” said Murphy. “We have a ton of freedom of what to wear, what to do, etcetera.”
According to Murphy, the money from the Valgrams goes toward paying for travel trips, orchestra festivals and maintaining and buying instruments. According to Murphy, his favorite part of Valgrams is performing them for teachers.
“Going through all the classes and seeing the reactions from recipients and other people in the class is fun,” said Murphy.
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