High notes, harmonies, a little beat box… and more than a few tears.

Four years of hard work came down to one last hour of song for Lopes' Head Coach Jackie Paul as she took the stage at Howerton Hall on the GCU campus with her Grand Canyon University Club A Cappella teammates to belt out nine songs at the GCU Spring Showcase. The 52-minute program gave the near-capacity crowd plenty of opportunities to show their appreciation for months of hard work by the group commonly known as the Canyon Crescendos.
 
"The most satisfying part of my four years with the Canyon Crescendos was watching the group transform from a brand-new idea into a thriving, passionate community," said Paul. "Being part of something - from the ground up, shaping the culture, building the sound, and seeing others step into leadership - was deeply fulfilling. I didn't just watch people grow musically, I watched them grow as humans, teammates, and artists."
 
Paul and fellow departing seniors Melanie Hreha (the team president) and Andrew Green were given flowers and kudos at the end of the hour by their teammates to a host of applause by the crowd. Before that, though, the three joined over a dozen of their cohorts for a wide-ranging set. Green was the first to step to the front of the stage as the rest of the Crescendos backed him up in the group's version of the Neon Trees' "Everybody Talks". Adele's "When We Were Young" was delivered next in a solo by Lopes' sophomore alto Sariah Otero-Serreno before fellow soph Elyse Reed took the stage for her version of "From The Start" (Laufey).
 
The rest of the group came back on stage for a lively four-song mashup that they performed during their 3^rd-place finish at the ICCA Quarterfinals in San Diego, California in February. The name of the set? "New Light", since each of the four songs involved dealt with that theme: two songs from Florence + The Machine, "Daffodil" (led by Paul) and "No Light No Light" (led by Emily Foran); Hozier's "First Light" (by Lopes' Vice President Enrique Urbina) and finally, Valerie Broussard's "Chasing the Light" (Otero-Serreno on lead).
 
The night then turned acoustic as Paul grabbed a guitar and performed a duet with Jaden Murray of Hillsong Worship's "Who You Say I Am". Urbina followed that up with his rendition of Scott Hoying's "Mars" before Deonne Jackana joined forces with Kjerstin Christensen to deliver an energetic version of "Give It Up" from the show 'Victorious').
 
The final two songs of the evening showed both the vocal ranges and the emotions of the group as their main leaders took their final bows: three-year student leader Hreha delivering a heartfelt and poignant solo of "How Could I Ever Know?" (The Secret Garden); and all three seniors leading the group in the finale, a version of Judy Collins' vintage hit, "Both Sides Now", that was arranged by Paul, who helped resurrect the program two weeks into her freshman year at GCU.
 
"That song (Both Sides now) truly encapsulates all the emotions of being a senior - reflecting on where we've been, who we've become, and the bittersweet excitement of moving on to a new chapter," said Paul. "It felt especially meaningful because I got to share that moment with my fellow seniors, singing side-by-side one last time. There's a unison section in the arrangement that I wrote myself, and when I heard everyone's voices come together at that moment, it hit me so deeply. It was overwhelming in the best way, like everything I've worked toward and cared about in this program came together all at once. That moment will stay with me forever. It was more than just music. It was a memory, a goodbye, and a celebration all in one."