In an Age of Screens, Students Are Still Choosing Choir: Here’s Why

How Dock Students Are Finding Community Through the Arts

“My biggest mistake was not coming to this school sooner.” — Samantha Pacana (‘26) (photo above- front row, second from left)

Samantha transferred to Dock as a junior and joined Touring Choir to sing but also as a way to connect with classmates. In a world where teenagers spend increasing amounts of time on phones and screens, many schools and families are asking an important question: Where do students find real belonging? As conversations around student attention, mental health, and digital distraction continue to grow, something countercultural is happening at Dock Mennonite Academy: students are still choosing choir. 

Not because it is easy.

Not because it looks impressive on a resume.

But because they are finding something there that can be difficult to discover in a digital world: community.

(Learn more about Why Dock Adopted a Bell-toBell Phone-Free School Day)

Why Arts Education Matters in a Private Christian School

For families exploring a private Christian school in Montgomery County, the performing arts often matter for reasons beyond performance. Music, theater, visual arts, and creative experiences shape students academically, spiritually, and relationally. At Dock, the arts are places where students learn to contribute, serve, take risks, and discover who they are becoming. (Learn more about The Arts at Dock)

Touring Choir: More Than Music

No program reflects this more clearly than Touring Choir.

Touring Choir is a Dock tradition that stretches back to the earliest years of the high school, spanning more than 70 years of school history. For generations of students, choir has been more than a class or activity—it has been a place where friendships are formed, faith is strengthened, and students learn what it means to use their gifts in service to others.

Dock’s Touring Choir is an auditioned ensemble that asks a lot of students. Rehearsals, performances, travel, and service opportunities require commitment and discipline. Yet year after year, students continue to choose it.

And they continue to come back.

This June marks the 30th anniversary Europe Tour tradition as students prepare to travel through Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and France for two weeks of music, worship, service, and learning. Along the way, they will connect with Mennonite communities and host families, visit places like Dachau concentration camp, and stand in locations tied to early Anabaptist history—including a cave outside Zurich where believers once gathered secretly to worship.

For decades, Touring Choir experiences have extended far beyond concerts. Students have sung at Carnegie Hall, traveled internationally, and built relationships that span generations. One Europe Tour story tells of a local German couple who arrived an hour early to a concert—not for seats, but to hear Dock students warm up because they had hosted a Dock student twenty years earlier and continued returning each tour simply to hear students warm up.

This spring, Dock high school students in Touring Choir joined more than 200 singers from seven Mennonite schools across the United States and Canada at the 2026 Mennonite Schools Network Choral Festival in Kitchener, Ontario—a long-standing tradition spanning more than 50 years. Students spent the weekend in rehearsals, worship, and collaboration while also working directly with composers, including Dr. Tracy Wong on her piece Bersatu Senada, and premiering a newly commissioned work, Amen and Alleluia, written by Rockway music director Jeff Enns. Experiences like these give students opportunities not only to perform at a high level, but also to build relationships and experience the broader community that music creates.

But ask students what matters most, and they rarely begin with performances.

Senior Samantha Pacana offers a powerful example. Samantha transferred to Dock as a junior and joined Touring Choir to sing but also to connect more with classmates. Reflecting on her experience, she shared, "My biggest mistake was not coming to this school sooner." Samantha describes Touring Choir as a game changer—helping strengthen relationships, deepen her faith by visiting a variety of local churches, and providing a community where she felt more deeply connected. 

The traditional benediction singing of “Go Ye Now In Peace” after each concert was another way that Samantha expressed connection to a larger community, sharing, “I thought it was special that I could sing “Go Ye Now In Peace” alongside people I don’t know, but we could connect through the Dock tradition of singing that song.” It is a cherished tradition to have former Touring Choir members and friends of Dock be invited to sing this piece as the combined chorus circles the room to conclude concerts.

In a school community where students are searching for belonging, Samantha's story speaks to why experiences like Touring Choir matter.

Senior Emerson Gruver shared:

"Being a member of the Touring Choir and having the opportunity to visit many local churches has widened my perspective on what a faith community really is. Not only have I learned how to serve others through music, I have been able to immerse myself in different cultures, worship styles, and experiences that provided spiritual growth."

Choir Director Mrs. Michelle Sensenig often reminds students that, "The singing that we do is an act of service, blessing others through song." That vision has shaped generations of Touring Choir students.

Morgan Camilleri ('25) reflected: "Joining the Touring Choir helped me develop my ability to use my gifts for God, and I can confidently say that I’m stronger in my faith because of my experience."

Beyond Choir: Theater, Band, Orchestra, and Creative Expression

At Dock, choir is only one part of a larger story.

Students participate in band, orchestra, theater productions, chapel worship teams, Arts Day presentations, and a range of musical and artistic experiences from elementary through high school. Dock’s theater program provides another place where students discover belonging while learning collaboration, confidence, and creative risk-taking.

Recently, all four performances of Dock’s production of Mary Poppins sold out—another reminder of what can happen when excellence meets community. Director Doug Burns reflected on students "painting, sawing, learning new skills, and giving up their Saturdays" while describing a process filled with "so much laughter, joy, and friendship." Producer Emily Rush noted the professionalism and leadership students brought throughout rehearsals, while sophomore Haven Burns shared how welcomed she felt during her first Dock musical experience.

One Dock community member summed it up simply: "This was the best high school play I've ever seen. The caliber of acting, choreography, orchestra, costumes, and sets were outstanding." (Learn more about When Excellence Meets Community: Mary Poppins at Dock)

Whether students are under stage lights, helping behind the scenes, rehearsing with orchestra, or singing with Touring Choir, they learn to contribute their part for the good of something larger than themselves.

What This Means for Christian Education

In Christian education, formation matters.

Students are not only learning content. They are learning how to live.

In a culture increasingly marked by distraction and isolation, the arts create spaces where students experience attention, beauty, presence, and community. Students rehearse together. Travel together. Serve together. They learn how to encourage one another and offer their gifts for others.

Maybe that helps explain why students continue choosing choir in an age of screens.

When excellence meets community, students discover something deeper than performance.

They find their people.

For families seeking a private Christian school in Montgomery County with a strong performing arts program, Dock Mennonite Academy offers opportunities where students discover not only their talents—but also community, purpose, and a place to belong. 

📌 Schedule a campus visit today at dock.org, attend an open house, or learn more about how Dock partners with families to support student well-being, academic growth, and meaningful community. Schedule a tour today!