Choral dept. showcased
Special to The Gazette
Friday, October 9, 2009
Emporia High School Choral Department will present its annual fall concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the high school auditorium. More than 200 singers will be featured, representing five choirs from EHS, who are accompanied by Melinda Groves. The concert will use the theme, “If Music Be the Food of Love….Sing on!”
“All of the literature that will be performed on this concert pertains to the food theme,” said Sheree Stoppel, director of the choirs. “You will hear a variety of styles and time periods. We are asking the public to make a special donation at this concert in the form of canned or boxed foods for the Abundant Harvest Food Bank, instead of an admission fee. Boxes will be placed outside the auditorium doors for the donations.
“We are hoping the Emporia community will come and hear a wonderful concert and help support the food bank at the same time.”
Treble Choir will perform “Fame is a Fickle Food” by Ruth Gray, “Drink to Me only with Thine Eyes” by Roger Quilter and “Hey Ho, Nobody’s Home” arranged by Greg Gilpin.
“Vive L’Amour” will be the opening number for the Choralaires. They will also perform “Food Glorious Food” from the musical “Oliver!” and “Frisco Bay” arranged by John Carter.
“Tea for Two” arranged in a jazz style by Greg Gilpin will be the opening number for Select Choir, followed by “Scarborough Fair” by Willard Palmer and “Ol’ Dan Tucker”, a folk song arranged by Gilbert Martin. Featured soloists will be Danny Anderson, Baxter Vaz, Sadie Cope, Allison Harding, Mackenzie Lahman and Nishat Yasmin.
Viva Voce will present several humorous numbers throughout the evening, including “Mashed Potatoes” by Paul Carey, “Banquet Fugue” by John Rutter and “Coffee in a Cardboard Cup” arranged by Kevin Robison. “Animal Crackers” by Eric Whitacre will be the opening number for Chorale, which features text by Ogden Nash and includes “The Panther”, “The Cow” and “The Firefly”. The Chorale Men will be performing “Seasons of Love” from the musical “Rent”. Chorale will also perform “Wade in the Water”, a spiritual arranged by Mark Hayes, and David Dickau’s “If Music be the Food of Love”, which inspired the theme for the evening.
A grand finale will end the concert, with the five choirs on stage singing “A Real Nice Clambake” from the musical “Carousel.” Cookies will be served following the performance, as a way to thank the community for supporting the choir department’s cookie dough fundraiser this fall. The money raised from the cookie sales helped purchase additional choir robes, stoles, tuxes and gowns.