Growing a Culture of Song: Seawolves Show Up at State Music Festival

In early January, six Tabor students joined a group of outstanding singers from southeastern Massachusetts for the Massachusetts MMEA Southeastern District Senior Festival. Sydney Benard ’29, Sarah Bonsey ’28, Merrick Brannigan ’26, Haoze (Eric) Liu ’27, Haisu (Sue) Zhao ’26, and Sophie Zhou ’29 auditioned for the ensemble and proudly represented Tabor. In addition, based off their audition performance, four students received recommendations to audition for the All-State Music Festival. One of those students, Sophie Zhou, was accepted into the elite ensemble of vocalists from across Massachusetts.

To Music Teacher Tianxu Zhou, this signifies a growing culture of vocal music at Tabor. He notes that while the school generally sends one or two students a year to the district festival, this year’s group of six was the largest number he remembers. And, he says, he does not recall a Tabor student being accepted into the all-state ensemble since his tenure at Tabor began 10 years ago.

Tianxu Zhou is especially proud because Sophie Zhou, who will represent Tabor at the state festival in March, is his daughter and just a freshman.

“These results show the level of preparation and level of musical ability we have in our students,” Tianxu Zhou says. He calls Madrigals, the advanced ensemble at Tabor, “a wonderful, wonderful group. I’ve pushed them through some challenging, difficult repertoire through the years.” Tianxu Zhou notes that the Madrigals all rehearse the district audition piece together. Even though they don’t all choose to audition for the district ensemble, they support their teammates who do. “They all learned the piece,” he says. “We worked on it together. All of them were fully engaged and involved.”

Sophie Zhou, meanwhile, says she was “really surprised” to be accepted to the all-state ensemble. She describes hours of practicing her audition piece and her sight-reading skills in the weeks leading up to the blind audition. She took a lesson from her father when her nerves set in.

“My dad talks about a singer who is known for saying that her job as a musician is to just do the audition,” she says. “You can’t control the outcome and decisions, so just focus on the audition.”

Sophie Zhou says music “is a magical thing that I love.” She praises the Madrigals and says it’s one of the best, most dedicated ensembles she’s been in. “It’s a really nice group,” she says. “We work hard every class, and we’re productive every class.” Zhou is also excited for her recent introduction to musical theater: She plays the role of Janis Ian in the school’s production of “Mean Girls.” “This is my first musical production,” she says, “and the technique is so different. In the musical, I’m belting it out, and that’s different from being part of a choral ensemble.”

Tianxu Zhou sees a bright future and a larger lesson in Tabor’s vocal music program. “We’re building a culture,” he says. “From the faculty perspective, we want to guide our students and educate them in musical literacy and expression. And, the students need to be willing to put in the hard work, and be willing to be more articulate, specific, and expressive with music. My students have always surprised me in the most beautiful way; every performance is so impressive.”

He sees music, and performance, as a vital part of the Tabor learning experience. “I think all of our students have a desire to become better at whatever they do,” he says. “It’s our job to give them the tools they need to help them, and to inspire them. Maybe it’s singing. Maybe it’s photography. Maybe it’s something else, but everybody should find the best way to express themselves. Finding ways to make art authentically is important.”