The Muses

A group of girls steps onto the stage, forming a semicircle with microphones in their hands. Their red heels gleam in the light, and the WHS Muses sway from right to left in unison as they launch into their set.

The Muses, formed in 1997, are one of the three a cappella groups at WHS. Unlike the other two groups, the all-male Testostertones and the co-ed Madrigals, the Muses are made up of female singers only.

At the end of each school year, they hold auditions for the next year. Old members are welcomed back to continue, and new members are allowed to audition for a spot. The group is selective, adding only a few new members each year. Prospective members audition for all three groups’ directors. Each group’s directors then select their new singers, negotiating for the performers they want.

“I think we’re able to be really diverse in our music selection, especially this year,” senior and the Muses’ co-director Lila Masand said. “Our girls all have beautiful voices, and we blend together really well.”

According to Masand, the Muses have strong personal bonds in addition to their strong sound.

“I think that over the years we have consistently supported each other, and each year we really just become a family very quickly,” Masand said. “My co-director [senior] Mia Narciso and I constantly joke that the girls are literally like our children.”

Sophomore and Muses member Lucy Hughes agrees that the Muses are like family.

“Being in an all girls group is amazing,” Hughes said. “It’s like having 11 sisters.”

Masand and Narciso usually choose the songs to perform, but they also look for suggestions from the rest of the group. Depending on a song’s lyrics, the directors may have to ask advisor and chorus director Rachel Carroll for permission to perform the song, but if the song does not contain any questionable content, the group can perform it.

“We know what general voice parts each of the girls can do, so sometimes we just decide who gets the solo based on that,” Masand said. “We like to switch up the parts whenever we can, but mostly people like having the same general parts to sing.”

The group practices at the same time as the Madrigals and T-Tones, every Sunday from 5-7 p.m. and every Thursday from 7-8:30 p.m.

As directors of the group, Narciso and Masand organize all of the events the Muses attend, and they try to make sure they correspond with the T-Tones and Madrigals when planning. The two directors also run rehearsals and make sure that the group warms up before concerts and performances.

“I’d really like to see the Muses become more energetic and lively onstage, and I think that’s totally achievable through more upbeat songs,” Narciso said.

When they are not performing in the school theater, the Muses perform in other settings. This winter, the group has gone caroling, and Masand has another goal she would like the group to reach.

“We’re thinking about trying to record a CD,” Masand said. “Both of my sisters were in the Muses as well, and one of them got to record an album with the group. It was a really cool experience for them. I hope that I can provide the girls with that same experience so that we will all remember each other and cherish the memories that we’ve made.”