After two years of masks, quarantine, and silence, Hall Pops n’ Jazz is back and ready to bring the community together through singing, jazz, and dancing.

With 64 years of history, Pops n’ Jazz unites over 100 Hall students and produces a show that is performed six times over a span of two weeks. Hall is one of two schools in the New England area to incorporate vocal jazz into their programs. It’s something that makes Pops n’ Jazz special and unique, as singers have to learn a difficult form of music and perform it live while moving around and dancing. 

Beginning in the middle of January, Hall Choraliers, Concert Jazz Band, Jazz Dancers, and tech crew, began arduous preparations for this widely-anticipated show. 

Sebastien Brand, a senior Choralier, says, “We put in time, put in effort, to be the best.”

After daily four hour rehearsals with the occasional eight hour Sunday rehearsal, Brand says, “You’re going to get home at night and choose between social life and keeping up grades. It’s one or the other.” However, he says, “On performance nights, you know it’s worth it.” 

The first show began on March 11, with additional performances being held on March 12, 13, 17, 18, and 19. Within these two hour performances, there is an intertwinement of both popular as well as not widely known songs, ranging from Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” to Cody Fry and Cory Wong’s “Golden.” For pieces like these, the Choraliers, Jazz Dancers, and Jazz Band performed simultaneously, demonstrating weeks of patience, hard work, and passion. 

Pops n’ Jazz is also unique because of its distinct variety of music. Senior Choralier Jason Bach says, “The variety of music is incredible; the amount of diversity and different kinds of songs we have, includes all different blends of culture. People of different voice types are able to shine in their respective areas.”

Willem Kollen, senior Choralier and president says, “Huge props to our tech crew, our directors, and all the work our ensembles put in.” 

Kollen adds, “You spend so much time with each other, we have eight hour rehearsals on Sundays, and you really get to know a lot of these people well.”

Aside from spending several hours with Choraliers on a weekly basis already, Kollen says he “got the chance to talk to the jazz band members, dancers, and tech crew, people he hasn’t gotten the chance to talk to this year.”

After a two year hiatus, this experience was certainly invigorating and enjoyable for the whole cast. 

David Gardner, a member of the Jazz Band, says, “I joined CJB (Concert Jazz Band) as a sophomore and we prepared for the show and it was canceled two or three days before opening night, and that was pretty bad. We prepared for months, so it was pretty disappointing.”

However, Gardner says, “During quarantine, I realized that the process of preparing for the show was more important than actually having the show, even though it’s really fun. The process of having rehearsals for hours on end with the Choraliers and Jazz Band was really fun.”

To finish, Kollen says, “These performances go out to the students of two years ago, because they didn’t get the chance to do this. We want to put on this show and bring the community back together.”