From the amazing Summer Musical to All State Camp, the choir department has an incredibly busy and successful summer here at MCHS. This year’s musical was Seussical The Musical, which combined nearly every Dr. Seuss story imaginable into one spectacular show, featuring an all star cast of students practically indistinguishable from professionals. In fact, the motto of the summer musical is usually something along the lines of “if they say that it was ‘good for a high school show’, then we’ve failed miserably,” and these better-than-Broadway ambitions really showed. With a beautiful set built and painted completely by our very own students under the guidance of Scenic Designer Tim Slaven and Master Painter Jan Kostka, endless cast parties and bonding activities put on by the students making the entire cast a close knit family, a flawless repertoire of songs that the cast had been rehearsing together for months under the direction of Joel Everist, and amazing choreography created by the incredibly talented pianist Rachel Everist, it made for one breathtaking musical. No matter what the show or source material is, the summer musical is always a must-see because of all of the students, teachers, and directors who work so hard day after day to make everything perfect.
Later in the summer, the new Concert Choir and a few brave underclassmen attended an All State Camp put on in the MCHS FEMA room to improve their singing skill and possibly audition to get into All State. We also had the honor of seeing the talented Jazz singer Maud Hixson perform live, singing a set of three timeless and fun jazz pieces that captivated the audience. The camp was three days long and full of hardworking students, all trying to earn a spot into All State or better their singing skills as a group for the upcoming fall concert in the NIACC auditorium, at 7:30 on Tuesday, October 17.
In other news, last year’s MCHS Chamber choir had the honor of performing at the Iowa Choral Directors Association 2017 Summer Symposium, as well as getting to do a workshop with the amazing all-woman, African-American performance ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock. The aim of Sweet Honey in the Rock is to educate, entertain, and empower its audience and community through the dynamic vehicles of audience and community through the dynamic vehicles of acapella singing and American Sign Language interpretation for the deaf and hearing impaired.” The chamber choir also got to participate in a service with the talented Tesfa Wondemagegnehu at the convention and learn music from his Justice Choir program, a program aimed at inspiring strength, unity, and policy change in situations that demand social and eco-justice, and to amplify that message peacefully, on the local and national level, through singing. The choir also got to see the vocal ensemble Cantus that evening, as a reward for all their hard work and performances throughout the day.
In fact, our very own choir director Sarah Bouska was honored to chair the symposium, she has spent two years putting the entire thing together, and has been asked to do so again in 2018. In her own words, “It was an unbelievable experience all around, to get to merge students that I and Mr Everist work with on a daily basis with professionals who have been part of the world of music for a long time, who have impacted American music and world music. Sweet Honey in the Rock has been around for more than 40 years and performed at Carnegie Hall 37 times, and to stand on the same stage with them and collaborate is an experience that one can only hope for and something our students will never forget.”
Even though choir may be filled with amazing cast parties, trips, and opportunities to watch amazing shows and performances, all fun aside, the students and teachers alike in the MCHS choir department put in countless hours of effort to make sure we will have always have a great year of spectacular shows and achievements. Despite how fun choir may be, or how stressful competitions may be, it’s not really about that. It’s about creating memories that will last a lifetime, it’s about providing a message of unity and hope through song in a sometimes dark and chaotic world, it’s about becoming closer than just classmates with your choir family, it’s about finding yourself in the music. For some, the reason for making music a part of their lives might be as simple as the reason for breathing, because if you didn’t you would die. In all honesty, it is all these reasons combined. It is why we sing.
You can find more info here: http://www.mchschoir.com/
excellent