Feb. 9, 2026
By Maddie Scherzer
Staff Writer
After long hours and weeks of preparation, 10 LHS chorale members, spanning from freshmen to seniors, participated in the Bergen County Choir concert, which took place on Jan. 20 at Paramus High School.
This choir was led by Anna Lilikas, a Music Department faculty member at Glen Rock High School, who previously served as the choir’s manager.
Over 200 students from public and private schools were accepted into this prestigious group following an audition at Mahwah High School on Oct. 28, 2025.
Senior Layla Santos, an Alto 1 who has been in the ensemble for four years, said the tonal memory test, which assesses the ability to recall, recognize and reproduce specific pitches or tones, was the most nerve-wracking part of the audition.
“It’s a section of the audition that is separate from everything else, [and] this one specifically is to really test your musical knowledge and sight-reading knowledge,” Santos said.
“It opens up a lot of new doors, you make a lot of new friends and it’s just a good experience overall that I think everyone should experience.”
She said four of the six pieces the group sang were in foreign languages, which made memorization difficult.
“I faced a challenge of trying to memorize a piece that was fully in Russian. Even though it was… only around 2 minutes, 30 seconds, it was still challenging,” Santos said.
Junior Anthony Andrews, a first-year LHS chorale member and Bergen County Choir member who is a bass 2, said being part of the Bergen County Choir has strengthened his musical skills.
“I got more experience, I can sight-read a little better now and I was exposed to different types of songs, ranging from Greek to Russian to Gospel,” Andrews said.
He said the rehearsals, which took place on Jan. 13, 16 and 17 at Paramus High School and lasted for about four to five hours each, were more intense than LHS’ chorale rehearsals.
“We had a lot of songs and a little bit of time, so we had to move fast, and we had to stay focused,” Andrews said.
Senior Lucas Guerrero, a Bass 1, said it felt bittersweet to conclude his time with the Bergen County Choir.
“It’s kind of sad knowing that I’m never going to do it again, but I’m very happy that I did,” Guerrero said. “The rehearsals [were] very long and tiring, but they [paid] off very well.”
Guerrero said he is glad to have participated in the Bergen County Choir for the past four years.
“It opens up a lot of new doors, you make a lot of new friends and it’s just a good experience overall that I think everyone should experience,” Guerrero said.
Freshman Ben De La Cruz, a first-year LHS chorale member and Bergen County Choir member who is a bass 1, said that although it was challenging, his favorite piece to sing was the gospel blues call-and-response song “John the Revelator.”
“Some of those intervals are not for the weak, and also, you had to sing, clap [and] stomp,” De La Cruz said.
He said the choir demonstrated its skill in performing this song.
“Blending was definitely a big part of what they did well, and they also sang the piece with the emotion that they were supposed to give,” De La Cruz said.
LHS choir director Ms. Wise, whose students have participated in the choir for the past 14 years, said the Bergen County Choir offers students opportunities that are not available at their high schools.
“The people who benefit the most… are tenors and basses [because they] don’t have the depth of students in our individual schools,” Wise said.
She said she is proud of the students who represented Lyndhurst this year.
“It takes more than just singing to get into these groups. [It requires] a lot of theory and some background and experience that they’ve done on their own,” Wise said. “I look forward to that type of success or more success in the future.”
