A cafeteria typically filled with hungry middle school and high school students was transformed for one night into a concert filled with talented performers.

The choir hosted its annual Cabaret Night on Wednesday, Oct. 19, in which students performed a variety of songs in front of a supportive and enthusiastic crowd. Mr. Carl Helder, choir teacher, was very proud of how the show turned out and says that Cabaret Night is a great way for students to do something that they love.

“I think these sorts of events really enhance the student experience at Glen Rock,” Helder said. “It’s a nice break from the ordinary and helps students feel that the building is a home away from home where they can enjoy the company of friends and faculty in a setting other than the classroom.”

Over the course of the school year, the GRHS choir holds a number of fundraisers. Since Cabaret Night began about 30 years ago, it has been their biggest way of raising money. When the event began, bands and singers preformed on the stage in front of there friends and family. Over the course of time, the choir decided to remove bands from the event and stick with singers only, since its main focus is on the voices of students.

The event has been one that the choir looks forward to since it first began. This year proved to be no exception.

“Generally speaking, enthusiasm for getting involved seems to be at a high again,” Helder said.” We had plenty of people to help with setup, selling and cleanup at the end of the night which was really great to see.”

The event was hosted by seniors Hannah Vanderwall and Megan Stoddard. The two girls found out the day before that two hosts were needed, so they decided to volunteer. The hosts made the most of their limited time, as they knew that the performers were the main focus of the event.

“It was more about the singers that night, so Megan and I just had to introduce them,” Vanderwall said.

In addition to setting up for the show with students for four hours prior to event’s start, Helder’s learned the  notes and lyrics to the songs in which he was involved. Much like the rest of the preparation, the time to rehearse these songs was limited.

“We have to put this together very quickly,” Helder said. “If a student asks me to accompany during the audition process I always say yes.  Honestly, due to the time constraints I can really only meet with them once, twice at most before we perform.”

The performances of the students showed much diversity. The songs ranged from modern Pop hits to acoustic versions of classics. Maggie Smith (’19) even sang a duet of the Fleetwood Mac song “Landslide” with her father.

As the sound of the guitar strums and voices echoed across the cafeteria, Helder could not help but look at the painted sign above the stage reading “CABARET NIGHT”. He smiled, thinking of a former teacher who had helped with nights like these for quite some time.

“The decorations, the truly ancient Cabaret Night sign that we hang onto always reminds me of our dear Mrs. Sneyers that retired a year and a half ago,” Helder said.

The choir will continue to hold fundraisers to raise money for future events. This includes a pie sale of Thanksgiving pies from Demarest Farms.

“Please support the choir throughout the school year,” Helder said.  “Just ask any choir student if you’d like to have a pie or three delivered to the school on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.”