The students take a breath. They’ve never done this before. They sit quietly before being called up to the stage. They stand in front of the audience, nervous and bubbling with excitement. One of them counts off: “One, two, one, two, three, four,” and the group jumps into Katy Perry’s “Firework.”

Lafayette has offered Show Choir, or Vox Solus, for five years now. It is an audition-based choir, like all other choirs offered at LHS. But Vox Solus is held before school starts, at 7:08 a.m., and they perform contemporary music rather than classical pieces.

“Vox is really different than other choirs in that there’s a lot more work put into the sound and our performance,” junior Becca Leslie said, “I wanted to be in Vox because the quality of the music was far beyond anything I had produced so far and it seems like more effort is put into it.”

Much of the group from last year graduated and choir director Michele Rodgers had to quickly find another group of underclassmen to take over.

Sophomore David Holmes was one of the many underclassmen to take on the stage as a Vox Solus member.

“Vox is incredible, we sing awesome songs and it’s a really comfortable environment. I’m really glad that I auditioned for it,” Holmes said.

But even with the majority of Vox Solus being new to acappella singing, they have quickly found their voice.

Senior Danielle Nosal joined choir her junior year and just this year became a member of Vox Solus.

“I think it’s helped me grow a lot as a musician and I’ve made a lot of friends that I’d consider my family now,” Nosal said.

While the choir has their own concerts they share with the Jazz Band, Vox Solus has performed at a variety of events, including during lunch on Homecoming week and during the Academic Pep Assembly.

As this year comes to a close, the group will lose four more seniors.

“Overall it’s been a great experience,” Nosal said.

Their last performance will be during the Choir Banquet on Thursday, May 6 at 7 p.m. Admission is free.