Exciting Events in the Choral Department!

     As many of you know, we have been really busy in the Hartselle High School Choral Department since Christmastime. Because of this, it's been a bit difficult to keep the blog updated- but I wanted to fill you all in on what we've been up to!

     In January, Lauren McCoy, Taylor Sivley and Kelsey Rae Walling (all Juniors) participated in the Alabama All State Show Choir Festival in Montgomery. The girls had 3 very full, very long days of dancing and singing their hearts out. They seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves, and put on a fantastic performance which featured Kelsey Rae going airborne during one of the numbers!

Taylor Sivley, Kelsey Rae Walling and Lauren McCoy outside the Rennaissance Hotel in Montgomery, AL

     In February, the HHS Choral Department performed at  the Alabama State Choral Performance Assessment in Birmingham. All students involved in the choral program learned the same two pieces ("Gloria" by Vivaldi and "How Can I Keep From Singing" by Vermont composer Gwenyth Walker) and we sang as one unified unit. We recieved all "superior" or "I" ratings- including on our sight reading! One of the adjudicators described us as "the most energetic and engaging choir I have seen in 3 days", and another commented on our close attention to dynamics and phrasing. It was a very exciting and rewarding day.

Concert Chorus members on the bus to State Choral Performance Assessment in Birmingham, AL

     Earlier in the school year, one of our own, Jesse Mashburn, participated in the District I Outstanding Choral Student competition which was held in Florence. Jesse won, and competed in the state competition in early March. Although Jesse did not win the state title, she performed wonderfully and made the HHS Choral Department very proud. At All State, she accepted an award on stage for her district title!

Jesse Mashburn, following her audition for State Outstanding Choral Student.

     In early March, 11 members of the HHS Choral Department traveled to Birmingham to participate in the All State Chorus Festival. Hunter King, Jamie McKelvy and Trey Moody sang as a part of the TTBB Men's Choir. Lauren McCoy and Taylor Sivley sang as part of the SATB Mixed Choir, and Reagan Bowling, Bri Chapman, Jesse Mashburn, Jordan Wade, Kelsey Rae Walling and Madeline Zanda participated in the SSAA Women's chorus. Additionally, Bri Champan and Jesse Mashburn auditioned for solos and were chosen to perform them at the All State concert! It was a wonderful long weekend of music making, and the HHS Choral Department is extremely proud of all of the singers that were able to participate!

All State Chorus participants before their performance.

Performer Trip Update

Dear Parents of Performers- please be looking for a letter to come home from your student this afternoon. In it, Miss Connie and I have outlined the plan for an abbreviated trip to Atlanta. We have asked that you sign and return a portion of this notification by Wednesday of next week. Please contact me if this  letter does not make it's way home to you.

New proposed trip itinerary:

Friday, April 26, 2013:

-Depart from Hartselle early morning

-Arrive in Atlanta and visit the Aquarium

-Dinner at the Hard Rock Café
-Tickets to see Sister Act at the Fox Theater

Saturday, April 27, 2013:

-Breakfast at the Hotel

-Visit Six Flags

-Travel home in the evening

We realize this is not the exact trip everyone had hoped for, however, due to time constraints it is the best option we could come up with. We thank you for your patience and understanding throughout this process.

-Mrs. D

Chaperones Needed for All State

Parents of All State Chorus Students:

We are looking for volunteers to join us for the All State Chorus festival in Birmingham on March 6-9. This would entail transporting students to Birmingham, and to and from rehearsals daily. Additionally, each chaperone would be assigned to a room with 2-3 singers. Ideally, we would love to have 4 chaperones (one for each student room), and if we were able to accomplish this- cost would be right around $200 per person. This price would also include breakfast each morning. We will be staying at the Embassy Suites, about 3 miles from Samford University.

Please let me know if you are interested. Once I know who would like to join us, I will calculate final numbers and send information packets home to everyone. We had a great time at the All State Show Choir Festival last week, and I am positive that All State will be just as enjoyable of an experience. 

-Mrs. D

Ensemble and Performers to Put on Dessert Theater!

Next month, Ensemble and Performers will put on a Dessert Theater to help us advertise for Follies and raise money for the Choral Department. We will hold this event on February 16th in the First United Methodist Church's Family LifeCenter at 7pm.

Our theme for this event, and for Follies, is Music Through the Decades. Parent volunteers are needed to help organize, provide materials and food for this event. Rhonda Hilliar and Rhonda McKissack are heading up the planning committee, and you should look for an email from them soon. Please mark your calendars!

Spring Concert Date Announced!

We are pleased to annouce that the HHS Choral Department will be holding their Spring Concert on the evening of Thursday, May 2 in our auditorium at the new high school. More details to follow soon!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year's celebration. We have only been back in school for two days, but we've already hit the ground running.

As you all know, this year has been a bit chaotic with changes in the HHS choral department and with our much anticipated move to our wonderful new school building. In the fall, the students unanimously voted to move our Follies date to March 16th in order to have the opportunity to be the first to perform on our new stage. While this is still our plan A, we have decided that it is best to have a plan B to fall back on if we are not in the new school by that time. If the new school and auditorium is not ready by March, we have reserved the Hartselle Civic center for our Follies performance. If we perform in the Civic center, our performance will be on the evening of Friday March 15th.

We understand that this may be difficult for some families- but we are doing the best we can with the information we have. Please check back for more updates, and do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Other important events coming up:
-Ensemble and Performers Dessert Theater- February 16 at First Methodist in Hartselle
-State Choral Evaluation- February 25, 26 or 27th at UMC in Birmingham
-Follies- March 15th or 16th in either the Hartselle Civic Center or in the new school auditorium
-Performers trip to St. Augustine- April 24-28
-Solo and Ensemble Festival- April 30 at Willowbrook Baptist Church in Huntsville
-Spring Concert- TBA

Popcorn and Mixed Bag Fundraisers

Hi Everyone!

Please make sure your student picks up his or her Popcorn and Mixed Bag fundraiser products at school this week. They are all in, and need to be distributed to our customers.

Thank you so much for supporting us in both of these fundraising endeavors- we will post final numbers soon! The funds from the popcorn fundraiser will be used to purchase items for the chorus classroom in the new school.

-Mrs. D