THE TANK
CHS Choirs Put On Spring ConcertMonday, May 14, 2012 By Sophomore Tina Barnes
The end of the school year is approaching and the CHS music department has yet again put on its spring concerts. The seniors performed at their final concert for high school and started looking forward to starting their new lives, while the freshmen breathed a sigh of relief that their first crazy year of choir is over. At the choir concert this year, the high school choirs--including the mixed choir, women’s choir, men’s choir, and jazz choir-- as well as the middle school choir performed. Any student who received a one rating at district contest also performed their winning piece. First up at the concert was the middle school choir, the Junior Dragon Singers(JDS).The JDS performed Let’s Sing! by Audrey Snyder, Music in You by Joseph Martin, I Will Never Leave You arranged by Mac Huff, and Ching A Ring Chaw arranged by Linda Spevacek. Followed by them was Meighan Robinson performing her solo Homeward Bound by Jay Althouse. Meighan received a one rating at district and at state contests. The Men’s Choir followed with O Captain! My Captain! by John Leavitt with soloists Daniel Sloan and Braiden VanBrunt, Stars I Shall Find by Victor Johnson and finished with Always Look on the Bright Side of Life by Mac Huff, complete with soloists Sean Brier, Zane Clark, Matt Duncan, Jake Robinson, Braiden VanBrunt and a full kickline that included Mr. von Glahn. Daniel Sloan, another student who received a one rating at district contest, then performed his solo Lydia by Gabriel Faure. The Women’s Choir performed In Remembrance also by John Leavitt, Il est Bel et Bon arranged by Norman Greyson, and a rendition of 21 Guns arranged by Roger Emerson with soloists Faith Robinson and Ashtyn Clay. Ashtyn then performed her solo-which received a one at district and a two at state, Ici-bas by Gabriel Faure. The Jazz Choir performed The Battle of Jericho arranged by Moses Hogan, O Nata Lux by Guy Forbes, a rendition of Hallelujah from the movie Shrek arranged by Roger Emerson, and finished with For Now from the musical Avenue Q arranged by Mac Huff. As the Jazz Choir left the stage the men’s octet that received a one at district and two at state- this included Jonah Bradford, Sean Brier, Zane Clark, Matt Duncan, Joe Pratt, Jake Robinson, Adam Ussher, Braiden VanBrunt- performed How Can I Come Into Your House by Johannes Brahms. The concert was concluded by the Concert Choir performing Fanfare by Joseph Martin Prelude to Peace by Z. Randall Stroope, Exultate, justi arranged by Leland Sateren, and The Crawdad Song arranged by Greg Gilpin. The end of the concert brought the presentation of letters to students, Seniors’ Recognition, senior gifts, awards, and the seniors presenting their gift to Mr. von Glahn for their appreciation of helping them over the years. This year the Seniors pooled some of their money to present Mr. von Glahn with an Acer Tablet, so that he could organize his sheet music a little easier. A lot of preparation went into this concert, Senior Jake Robinson said, “As a senior, I’m an organizational section leader for Jazz Choir. So I’ve mostly just been trying to enforce that they practice outside of class, because even though we do get a lot done in class with Mr. von Glahn, a lot of the single notes and the steps are fixed outside of class.” Choir Director Mr. Brian von Glahn was very excited with how the concert went, “We’ve been preparing our contest music since the beginning of January, and our newer music since the beginning of April,” said Mr.von Glahn.”I’m happy with how it went. I was really excited about the concert. I think there was a great diversity of music, and I think it has been a great learning experience for everyone, especially the middle school students that were there to also get to hear the four high school choirs and perform on the same stage as them. It gives them something to look forward to and grow towards.” added Mr. von Glahn. Freshman Kayla Carroll-Seuferling said, “It was a lot more hectic than I expected and I had a little trouble keeping up with how fast paced everything was, but it was a fun year.” This was Kayla’s first year in choir and though she is sad the year is over and the seniors are leaving, she’s also excited to get a break from the chaos. Jake is a little sad that this will be his last concert for high school, “It’s kind of bittersweet to think about it. If I could give any advice to the freshman, though--work your tails off; it’s definitely worth it.” The Tank congratulates the graduating seniors and wishes good luck to next year’s choir students! |