Snapshot From RHS: A Round Classical Sound

Students in zero hour A Cappella warm up with “Medieval Gloria” and work on “Three Madrigals,” a song with lyrics from a variety of Shakespeare plays. Lizabeth Diaz, the director, sits at the piano in an “I Heart Renton” T-shirt with red cuffs, and glasses with aqua green rims, and plays a recording of “Madrigals.”

Ms. Diaz: What’s one thing you think they did well?

Newsboy hat: Their pitch was good. Their sopranos have good dynamics.

Pink headband: It sounded perky. Their rhythms were accurate.

Ms. Diaz: What’s one thing you think they could work on?

Heart-shaped earrings: The sopranos sounded like they were screaming.

Ms. Diaz: Okay, you don’t agree. I wouldn’t say they were screaming, but I’d say the top notes were a bit chirpy, a bit ugly.

Ms. Diaz gets up from the piano and cuts through a row of chairs. “Habitual offender,” she says and extends her hand to a young man in a leather jacket. He looks up and puts a cell phone in her hand. “Talk to me about how that makes you feel,” she says, turning away. “I know you feel assaulted by that.”

She returns to the piano, sits down and addresses the class: “What did the choir in this recording look like?”

Class, in unison: White.

Ms. Diaz: How do you know?

Multiple students: How they sound.

Ms. Diaz: If we worked hard, we could sound like that. However, I like the way you sound. You have a more assertive tone quality… I once had a judge tell me we should only do gospel music because that’s what we do best. I think that’s bull. How can you learn what your voice can do if you only do what your voice already knows? It’s ridiculous and condescending. I didn’t say that to his face, but I did throw his score sheets away… so what I’m saying is that I like the way you sound already but that we still need to work on sounding classical.

Two late students walk in. “Good morning,” Ms. Diaz says. “Welcome.”

Class started at 6:25 am; the time is 6:32 am.

Ms. Diaz pauses for a second and reaches behind her. She gets up, hands a clipboard to a student, and tells the student to write down the exact time the next late student walks in.

“'Gloria,'” she says to the class, and everyone stands. One girl’s keychain, clipped to her jeans, dangles on her thigh. One girl holds her backpack in front of her like a child.

Ms. Diaz motions for the choir to begin and forty-two students fill the room with “Gloria in Excelsis Deo.”

Their voices echo off the high ceiling, the five levels of flooring, the three rows of chairs.

“Give me a round, classical sound,” Ms. Diaz says. “Eli, hands out of your pockets.”

Gloria in Excelsis Deo.

“Food is allowed in zero hour, gum is not,” Ms. Diaz reminds the class. “Those of you who came in late, look at the clock.”

Gloria in Excelsis Deo.

“Sing like you’re in ‘Glee.’ Sing like you’re a bunch of white children from California!”

Gloria in Excel–

“–who get paid to sing!”

–celsis Deo!

“Thank you for doing medieval ‘Gloria’ so well we don't have to keep practicing it,” Ms. Diaz says as she cuts them off. “As we move into singing the ‘Madrigals’ I want us to try to sound like Julia Child, the cooking lady. Do you know who I’m talking about?”

Ms. Diaz affects an English accent. “Try. To sound. Like this,” she says. “I’m trying to get you to lift your soft pallet. Keep your mouths really round and long. Sopranos, we’ll start with you.”

O mis-tress mine, where are you roam-ing? O, stay and hear! Your true – love’s com-ing, That can sing both high and low, high and low, high and low…

“Men, it’s your turn. Stand, tenors. Ladies, what can you be working on while I’m working with the men?”

The men begin: What is love? Tis not here af-ter; still un-sure, still un-sure; In de-lay there lies no plen-ty, Then come kiss me, sweet and twen-ty! Youth’s a stuff will not en-dure…

“Boys, don’t be sloppy with this,” Ms. Diaz says. “That first ‘endure’ is extended. It gets two of those long beats and then we fade out. Girls don’t like sloppy.

“Girls, am I right?”

A girl in a purple velvet suit jacket bites into an apple. Another girl in a Gonzaga basketball jersey nibbles a frosted strawberry Pop-Tart. Another in brown UGG boots sets a red thermos on her desk and blurts out, “What are you talking about?”

“One of the reasons Shakespeare is popular is because he talked about popular, timeless issues. Boys will always give sloppy kisses, and girls will always be grossed out by them. Ladies, thank you for waiting for the men to finish. You might be waiting your whole life.

"Men, here we go.”

In de-lay there lies no plen-ty, Then come kiss me, sweet and twen-ty! Youth’s a stuff will not en-dure, not en-dure, not en-dure…

Note: This column is a cross-section, a slice of life, a glimpse into the ordinary and sometimes surprising moments that happen at the real Renton High School. It is not comprehensive. Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of students.