Valentine’s Day is a day full of interpretation of what love and friendship means. To some, it’s all about the sweet, decadent chocolates and bright, blooming flowers. To others, it might be about romance and breakups, smiles and tears. Yet to the Los Altos High School choir, Valentine’s Day means one thing: singing.

Each year, the Los Altos High School choirs sell Valentine’s Day serenades at lunch that students can buy for their friends. This Valentine’s Day, Tuesday, February 14, Volare, the choir’s premier group, went around the school and sang for the recipients of the gifts.

“I think friends send them to their friends to kind of embarrass them in a good way, but it’s all in good faith,” choir director Lauren Diez said. “It’s a good opportunity for us to just spread some smiles on Valentine’s Day and have fun doing it.”

Choir members and students alike find that Valentine’s serenades bring the school community
closer together, strengthening bonds through music.

“Live performance creates a kind of a different atmosphere,” junior Abby Chai said. “Instead of passing out multiple cards at the same time, there are these few minutes where everything is centered on the person. So that makes for a really unique experience.”

However, the preparation for serenades wasn’t easy. It took a lot of decision-making and collaboration to put the fundraising program into motion.

“We have the song selection, then we practice and we have to make plans for how we’re going to split up and divide the classrooms, and which groups are gonna go to which and what periods,” Abby said. “There’s a lot that goes into that long, long process.”

Even more, choir students had to miss their third, fifth and seventh periods to sing. Yet despite all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes, the vocalists thoroughly enjoyed performing.

“You’ve got a group of really talented individuals who are choosing to take choir as a class, and making something really cool out of it.” sophomore Julia Fung said. “We have days where we take ten minutes to start class because we’re all lying down on each other in a big dog pile. It’s very fun and a really cool experience also because you’re watching people who are really well bonded, and we’re all just excited to perform.”

But perhaps more importantly, through singing and sharing their passion, choir members are able to reach more people and grow their community.

“Serenades give us a chance to really show the school that like hey, we’re here,” senior Isha Chudasama said. “We want to engage with you, we want to do things with you.”

“Music has, whether you want to admit it or not, a really big impact on people,” Julia said. “It’s something that brings you together, but you also just experience art that your peers make. So it’s very much a matter of connecting with other people who you wouldn’t otherwise connect with.”