On Monday, December 18, the I-35 Vocal Music Department presented their 2023 Winter Concert. The evening featured our young Roadrunner vocal musicians between 5th and 12th grades.
The evening began with the 5th grade students singing the American folk song “Shenandoah" arranged by Andrew Parr and a fun number called “Pizza!” by Kirby Shaw. The 5th grade choir was led by Director Kelley Dugger. The program then transitioned to the Middle School Choir which is directed by Mrs. Danae Coleman. The developing middle school singers shared three holiday songs - “French Carol Duet” which was arranged by Mary Donnelly and George L. O. Strid, “Up on the Housetop” and finally “Deck the Halls” which were both arranged by Vicki Tucker Courtney.
The next group to showcase their talents was the High School Choir. This group performed the easily recognized “Winter Wonderland”, arranged by Kirby Shaw; “Still, Still, Still”, arranged by Victor C. Johnson, a unique piece called “Pat-a-Pan” which allowed the vocalists to demonstrate their wide talents, arranged by Greg Gilpin, and finally “That’s Christmas to Me”, arranged by Audrey Snyder, which also featured Hailey Cormeny as a soloist.
The evening ended with all the students singing “When the World was at Peace '' by Franz Gruber and Douglas E. Wagner. Prior to signing “When the World was at Peace”, Avaya Clark, Kaedence Currie, and Emi Gutierrez shared that this song was written to commemorate a ceasefire which occurred the Christmas of 1914 during World War I.
All the students did a wonderful job of showcasing their grown vocal music talents, and the choirs continue to grow and we’re currently up to 41 students. In addition to our choir directors, Anne Johnson served as the students’ accompanist throughout the evening. Both Director Dugger and Director Coleman want to extend their thanks to the parents, administration, staff, and students for all their work to make the concert a success. They also appreciate all the parents and community members who attended the concert to show their support for our students in the fine arts.
