T.C. Williams High School Choir
Due to the pandemic the award-winning T.C. Williams High School Choir of Alexandria, Virginia is currently meeting virtually while they work on a number of exciting projects. Their last live, in-person performance was the Alexandria City Pyramid Concert in early March 2020. In the Spring of 2019, the T.C. Williams Choir was one of 7 choirs across the country selected to perform at the renowned 2019 Music for All National Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana.
T.C. Williams Choir has a stellar track record when it comes to competing. Under the direction of Theodore Thorpe III, the choir has consistently received “superior” grades in their competition performances. In 2018, the Choir competed at Disney World’s Music Festival and won Gold and Silver Awards. A year ago, the Choir was selected to be the “showcase” high school choir for the 2017 Virginia Music Educator Conference (VMEA) in Hot Springs, Virginia.
T.C. Williams High School Choir provides a medium for performing choral music in the school and throughout the Alexandria City community. T.C.’s choral program is comprised of 120 students that are a part of four distinct choir groups: Advanced, Mixed, Concert, and Show Choir. All students learn to create an individual vocal sound and contribute to an ensemble choral sound. T.C. Williams’ Choir repertoire covers many styles from classical to pop from different periods and ranges in difficulty from III-VI based on the Virginia Choral Directors Association rating system.
Beyond choir competitions, the talented and passionate director, Mr. Thorpe is all about enabling students to lead, teaching responsibility, teamwork, discipline, and providing a sense of belonging through the shared experience of singing together.
Why does singing matter for learning? Science tells us that when choirs sing, hearts beat as one! This is the key finding of researchers from Sweden’s University of Gothenburg who studied the heart rates of high school choir members as they joined their voices. Their findings, recently published in Frontiers in Neuroscience, confirm that choir music has calming effects on the heart — especially when sung in unison.
Who are we? The choir is from T.C. Williams High School, which is the only public high school in the City of Alexandria, one of the largest in Virginia, and one of the most diverse in the country. Our students represent not only Alexandria but the world, speaking over 100 different languages. When we sing together we embody unity in diversity! And our hard work has been recognized! In addition to our multiple competition awards we have sung for multiple presidents, dignitaries and celebrities, on national television, for the opening of the National Museum of African American History, and at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
When the choir is not competing, the T.C. Williams Choir sings for special occasions, like the Dedication Ceremony of the National Museum of African American History and Culture on September 24, 2016, where we sang for three U.S. presidents and many other dignitaries and celebrities. Over the last nine years we have sung on nationally televised productions on TNT and CBS-TV respectively, with current music sensations Maxwell, Yo-Yo Ma, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, Diana Ross, Scotty McCreery, Miranda Cosgrove, Demi Lovato, Matthew Morrison, and Justin Bieber. The Choir is proud to say that we also sang at The John F. Kennedy Center for President Clinton, President Carter, President G.W. Bush, honoring the service of President George H.W. Bush.
T.C. Williams Choir has a stellar track record when it comes to competing. Under the direction of Theodore Thorpe III, the choir has consistently received “superior” grades in their competition performances. In 2018, the Choir competed at Disney World’s Music Festival and won Gold and Silver Awards. A year ago, the Choir was selected to be the “showcase” high school choir for the 2017 Virginia Music Educator Conference (VMEA) in Hot Springs, Virginia.
T.C. Williams High School Choir provides a medium for performing choral music in the school and throughout the Alexandria City community. T.C.’s choral program is comprised of 120 students that are a part of four distinct choir groups: Advanced, Mixed, Concert, and Show Choir. All students learn to create an individual vocal sound and contribute to an ensemble choral sound. T.C. Williams’ Choir repertoire covers many styles from classical to pop from different periods and ranges in difficulty from III-VI based on the Virginia Choral Directors Association rating system.
Beyond choir competitions, the talented and passionate director, Mr. Thorpe is all about enabling students to lead, teaching responsibility, teamwork, discipline, and providing a sense of belonging through the shared experience of singing together.
Why does singing matter for learning? Science tells us that when choirs sing, hearts beat as one! This is the key finding of researchers from Sweden’s University of Gothenburg who studied the heart rates of high school choir members as they joined their voices. Their findings, recently published in Frontiers in Neuroscience, confirm that choir music has calming effects on the heart — especially when sung in unison.
Who are we? The choir is from T.C. Williams High School, which is the only public high school in the City of Alexandria, one of the largest in Virginia, and one of the most diverse in the country. Our students represent not only Alexandria but the world, speaking over 100 different languages. When we sing together we embody unity in diversity! And our hard work has been recognized! In addition to our multiple competition awards we have sung for multiple presidents, dignitaries and celebrities, on national television, for the opening of the National Museum of African American History, and at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
When the choir is not competing, the T.C. Williams Choir sings for special occasions, like the Dedication Ceremony of the National Museum of African American History and Culture on September 24, 2016, where we sang for three U.S. presidents and many other dignitaries and celebrities. Over the last nine years we have sung on nationally televised productions on TNT and CBS-TV respectively, with current music sensations Maxwell, Yo-Yo Ma, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, Diana Ross, Scotty McCreery, Miranda Cosgrove, Demi Lovato, Matthew Morrison, and Justin Bieber. The Choir is proud to say that we also sang at The John F. Kennedy Center for President Clinton, President Carter, President G.W. Bush, honoring the service of President George H.W. Bush.
Other Performances include
- 11th Anniversary Choir concert at T.C. Williams High School, Fall 2019
- One of 7 choirs in the country selected to participate at the 2019 Music for All National Festival competition in Indianapolis, IN.
- Second Place prize in 2017 at the National iSing Scholarship Challenge Competition, awarded $3000;
- The Gold trophy and the "Grand Champion" Award for the highest scoring ensemble of all 32 musical Superior ratings in Myrtle Beach Music Festival in 2017; Gold trophy in 2016;
- Performed on the Carnegie Hall Concert Stage in the 2014-2015 music festival season;
- The Gold trophy at the 2013 Heritage Music Festival in Atlanta, Georgia;
- Top honors at the 2012 Orlando Festival at Universal Studios and receiving the "Grand Champion" Award for the highest scoring ensemble of all 16 choral ensembles present;
- Champions of the 2011 at the National iSing Challenge Competition, awarded the grand prize of $5,000.
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National Anthem at the Dedication Ceremony of the National Museum of African American History and Culture on September 24, 2016.
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