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

Congratulations to all HHS Singers!

Congratulations to all HHS Singers on an OUTSTANDING concert last night! What a great way to kick off the holiday season!

I am very much looking forward to Follies, State Evaluation and our spring concert. Enjoy your break, but please come back ready to dive in to some new music!

Reminders!

-Our Christmas concert is next Thursday, December 13th. Students need to be at East Highland Baptist Church, ready to sing by 5pm. The concert will start at 6pm.

-The Christmas concert is being held on the same evening as the Hartselle Christmas parade. We know that some roads will be closed in preparation for the parade, and advise you to take the Hartselle bypass to get to the church. Please make sure to leave plenty of time to get there, as traffic may be heavy.

-Many students still have not paid and/or picked up their outfits and shoes. Most of the dresses and pants will need to be hemmed, so please make sure you have enough time to get this done before the concert.

-We still need batteries for the concert. We will be using electric candles, and each student needs 2 AA batteries to operate theirs. Please send some to school as soon as possible.

Thanks so much! We can't wait to share our music with you next week!

-Mrs. D

Girls Ensemble trip to Pigeon Forge

This past weekend, the HHS Girls Ensemble took a trip to Pigeon Forge, TN to perform at Country Tonite!

We left early Friday morning, and arrived in Pigeon Forge in time to put on a small concert at a local retirement home. We were able to stay and chat with the residents for a few minutes before we headed back to our cabin to get ready for our Country Tonite! performance.

We arrived at the theater, and after an exciting back stage tour, and a meet-and-greet with some of the performers, the girls had their chance on the stage. They sang beautifully, and following their performance, were able to sit in the audience and enjoy the rest of the show. After the show, we headed back to the cabin for hot cookies and an ornament exchange party.

Saturday morning, we all got up early and hit the outlets in Sevierville. Some girls ventured up into Gatlinburg, and some came back to rest at the cabin early. We all met up in the early evening and got ready to head to our dinner at Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede. The food was delicious (even though we had to eat it with our hands!) and the performance was amazing. The music, the animals, and all of the performers really made for a spectacular show.

After the show, we all came back to the cabin and the girls had a gift exchange. The moms stayed up to chat, and the girls played games in the rec room. Sunday morning, we all woke up and headed our separate ways. It was a fantastic weekend, and none of us were really ready to go home.

Christmas Concert Information

The HHS Choir Christmas Concert will be held on Thursday, December 13 at 6PM in the evening. We will be performing in the sanctuary of East Highland Baptist Church. Students need to arrive, in concert attire, no later than 5PM.

I understand that there is some confusion about the time of the concert, and I realize that is has been traditionally held at 7PM. However, in order to accommodate the Hartselle Christmas Parade that is being held on the same evening, we had to move our concert time a bit earlier. Students that are in both choir and band do not need to worry about being late to the parade- I have spoken with Mr. Key and he is OK with it.

We are asking all students to bring in 2 new AA batteries. We need them before the concert. Please send them with your student either this week or next.

We are very excited about this performance and are ready to share what we've been working on for the last few months with an audience. We promise you won't be disappointed!

-Mrs. D

Congratulations to HHS Performer, Jesse Mashburn!

The HHS Choral Department would like to congratulate Ms. Jesse Mashburn for winning the Alabama Vocal Association's Outstanding Choral Student competition for district I!

Jesse will compete with winners from the other districts at the state level in March. We are so proud of her and wish her all the best at state!

HHS Choral Students Accepted into All-State!

The HHS Choral department would like to congratulate the following students for being accepted into the All State Chorus:

SATB Choir:

Lauren McCoy

Taylor Sivley

TTBB Choir:

Hunter King

Jamie McKelvy

Trey Moody

SSAA Choir:

Reagan Bowling

Bri Chapman

Jesse Mashburn

Jordan Wade

Kelsey Rae Walling

Madeline Zanda

These students worked extremely hard to learn their music and to prepare for the audition they took in early November. They will perform in March at Samford University in Birmingham.

Additionally, Lauren McCoy, Taylor Sivley and Kelsey Rae Walling were also accepted into the All State Show Choir which will have it's festival in Montgomery in January.

Congratulations to all! We are so proud of you!

-Mrs. D

Welcome to our new blog!

Hello everyone!

Welcome to the new HHS Choral Department Blog! This space will be used to post updates, information, and successes about our concerts, field trips, fundraisers and other events. Please check back regularly!

Upcoming events:
Monday, November 26- Popcorn Fundraisers are DUE!

Friday, November 30- Ensemble leaves for Pigeon Forge, TN and performance at Country Tonight!

Monday, December 3- IRC Holiday Program. 6:30pm. Please come and support them!

Saturday, December 8- Ensemble and Performer Cookie Caroling party at Mrs. D's home. 6pm.

Thursday, December 13- HHS Choirs Christmas Concert. 6pm (This has been changed to accommodate the Hartselle Christmas Parade)- East Highland Baptist Church. Call time will probably be 5pm.

-Mrs. D