On March 31, 2026, choir singers from schools within the San Ramon area gathered in the DVHS gym for this year’s Area Choir Festival. The event, which takes place annually, serves as a way to bring choirs from nearby elementary and middle schools to the DVHS choir, showcasing songs they’ve been working on this year.
“It was really fun, because we got to see younger students from elementary and middle schools also sing, and it kind of felt like a full circle moment,” DVHS sophomore Ankitha Venkatesh described.
First to perform was the elementary school choir, which included Quail Run, Bella Vista and Hidden Hills. They performed songs such as “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars and an extended version of “The Star Spangled Banner.” Soloists also performed, adding to the charm of the young students’ performance. After that, the Windemere Ranch Middle School choir took the stage, with highlights being “Freedom Train” and “The Kazoo Koncerto,” where choir members pulled out kazoos to play in between verses.
“My favorite song that we performed was ‘Woodsmoke and Oranges,’” Windemere Ranch student Dhwani Venkat said. “I loved how the song has tribal sounds and how it incorporates many unique melodies.”
The song also includes fake bird calls and bone rattles, which was another star of the middle schoolers’ performance. Next went the DVHS choir, which sang a collection of choice songs from performances they’d had all throughout the year.
“A lot of our songs were pulled in from our other lineups. Like, for example, we have our POPS Concert coming up, so my ensemble song was pulled from the POPS music list,” Venkatesh explained.
Each choir got a chance to perform a song, such as Chamber Choir, which sang “Ritmo,” and Treble Clef, which sang “Pure Imagination.” Venkatesh, who is part of Vocal Ensemble 1, sang “Beauty.” At the end, all the DVHS choirs came together to sing one more song, “Lean on Me.” Senior Meena Fazel was one of six soloists to perform during the song.
“It felt like, in a way, we were setting a good example for all the kids who feel inspired musically,” Fazel remarked. “Our duet also represented the meaning of the song ‘Lean on Me’ because in a way it lets them know that you don’t always feel like you have to carry the world on your shoulders, when you can rely on someone to help you with the hard moments.”
Finally, all the students came to the front and sang “Does the World Say?” in a sweet tribute to WRMS choir director Rose Loth, who would be retiring this year. Director Loth went onto the stage, where she received flowers and thanks while the choirs sang. The stage and front row of the audience could barely hold the mass number of student performers as their combined voices rang through the theater.
“It felt like I was walking through time, watching elementary school students sing and the DVHS choir all at the same time,” Venkat concluded.
