At Napa County’s biggest high school, choir is ‘cool’
Families and friends filled American Canyon High School’s buzzing 400-seat theater on Tuesday night for the Fall Spotlight Concert, an annual performance where choir students stage their own arrangements of classic and modern songs.
As singers belted out tunes by artists from neo-soul star Olivia Dean and Wicked to Coldplay and ‘90s R&B crooner Shai, ACHS students’ talent stunned the audience. The night was one of revelry, with cheers and hand claps from the crowd, which included grandparents, parents, older sisters, baby brothers, and people from all over American Canyon.
“Choir’s the cool thing here,” said Abrianna Tiro, a junior, as the crowd spilled out of the theater after the show.
“So cool!” agreed singer Kale’a Dacanay, a senior. Decanay and Tiro are sopranos in Public Display of Acapella, aka PDA, one of the school’s choirs. The two chatted with the American Canyon Current while celebrating with fellow performers.
“I think I did good! I messed up on a few solos but then I got back on track,” said Decanay, who had multiple solos that evening.
PDA performed renditions of Frankie Valli’s “I Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You” and Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” among other hits. Tiro and Decanay also had solo acts, with Tiro performing a rendition of “The Wizard and I,” a complex melody from the musical Wicked.
“I’m ready for some Chick-fil-A,” said Melody Kondor, a senior and PDA singer.
“Can we please?” someone chimed in.
Long time choir leader Jamie Butler started the Fall Spotlight Concert series 13 years ago, just a few years after the school opened. In 2010, American Canyon High School became the newest high school in Napa Valley Unified School District, built to accommodate the city’s rapid population growth.
While there are similar concerts at Vintage and Napa high schools, Butler told the Current, he’s been thrilled with the many choirs and concerts he’s helped put together at ACHS over the years.
“American Canyon’s a different place,” said Butler. “We’re made up of all these talented kids.” And the Spotlight Concert is for them, a night where “the kids get a chance to sing and perform, to do their thing.”
Do their thing, indeed. While Butler and PDA selected songs for the groups’ nine acapella performances, 12 acts on the night’s bill were put together independently by choir students. Some formed rock ‘n roll bands just for the night in all-out renditions of Bon Jovi and 90s indie rock band Metric. Some performed softer numbers as singer-songwriter duos, with harmonies and back-up vocals.
Lily Lobo, a senior, performed a song from My Little Pony as a duet with a friend. Before taking the stage, she was shaking. But her confidence won out.
“I tend to get nervous before I do things, but I remember that I know more than I think,” she told the Current.
Lobo’s older sister, Leilani, rushed to the show straight from work in Fairfield. She performed in the Spotlight Concert 10 years ago when she was a senior at ACHS. Now 25, she’s currently in the final year of her associate degree in theater at Solano Community College.
“There’s a lot more instruments now; it’s awesome to see,” Leilani said.
Like every year, last night doubled as a fundraiser for the more than 1,000 college-bound seniors in the class of 2026.
“Tonight is also about raising money for the scholarship program,” Butler said. “We’ve given $100,000 over 13 years to graduating seniors.”
He’s humble about it, but Butler is a beloved figure in American Canyon. “He’s amazing,” said Tiffany Kondor, whose daughter, Melody, is a senior and PDA singer. “He’s done so much for the community and really getting these kids active.”
Kondor told the Current that generations of kids have come up under Butler, including her cousins and siblings. And a lot of them show up to Spotlight and other concerts, even after graduating.
“It’s a town thing,” she explained, holding her 1-year-old baby. “People who don’t even have kids show up.”
Nick Curtis, the school’s theater tech, agreed, saying that choir is popular with all kinds of students. “Up in Napa, if you’re a guy, it’s only cool [to be in choir] if there’s football players. Down here, it’s cool,” he said.
Butler confirmed that sports and choir are often intertwined at ACHS. “One year, I had the entire starting offensive lineup of quarterbacks,” he said with a laugh.
Next week, Oct. 6 and 7, is the big fall choir performance series, sure to draw an even larger crowd.
