Since he began teaching music, choir teacher Tyler Morris has never had to keep a group from performing.

Until this month.

The Choralaires, an all-girls choir, didn’t sing at the fall concert on Oct. 7.

“They just weren’t ready,” Morris said.

Choir is one of freshman Neala Cooke’s favorite classes, so she was disappointed at the news.

“I was really surprised when I heard we weren’t going to be able to participate,” Cooke said.

To succeed in choir, members need to have focus, along with the desire to learn and participate.

But in a class of more than 70 students, it’s sometimes difficult for everyone to be entirely ready by the time the concert rolls around.

“I get why Mr. Morris did it; we had a lot of things to work on,” sophomore Delaney Nierman said.

Not everyone agreed. Others believed that it was unfair to the students who genuinely tried their best.

“Some people didn’t try, which made it harder for everyone else to focus,” freshman Karlee Hoffman said.

On the plus side, those who wanted to be involved had the option to sing in the closing song with the other choirs; about 15 showed up.

Morris hopes the Choralaires will be ready to perform by the next concert on Dec. 11.