Now that show choir is officially over I have time to reflect back on the past year and think of all the incredible and memorable experiences I had. One of those experiences that I reflect back on is the Raise the Roof Show Choir Invitational at our own Kennedy High School.
This year the talent was stacked at our competition, and most of it came from new groups that I've never heard of before. It's fun being able to watch and interact with kids your own age from a different city or state because it allows for learning of different cultures, and allows us to get to know other people that could become future friends. However, even with that said, my favorite part is not social hour or listening to other groups perform. Most of the time I get to only see at maximum about three shows throughout the day anyway, so that aspect of our competition is not why I love it so much. I love it because of the organization behind it and all the volunteering that occurs.
Compared to other show choir competitions ours is so smoothly ran! We assign every kid who partakes in a show choir a job so that we can say every one did their part, but then we also use parents. At Kennedy High School we have the best parent support group imaginable. We have parents who volunteer 8 hours worth of work in order to help make our competition run smoothly. No other competition has that type of support. Along with just being there they are also friendly. They will help with any question and are always willing to do more. This year I worked a lot with Mr. Koch, Mr. Minor, Mr. Tygart, and Mr. Caldbeck. All very nice and well deserving gentlemen and they taught me the ropes to Raise the Roof. I helped set up parking signs, parking cones, the stage, chairs in the audience, posters around the school. If you saw it one of us probably had something to do with it. Even though the actually work part of Raise the Roof sucks, it's the bonding and friendships that occur that makes the whole thing worth it.
Besides those men I also got to hang out with Mr. Ziegler and my sister. They always run the scores so they have the inside scoop on who is winning the competition before anyone else. So on actual competition day I spend a lot of my time in there and help them and just talk about life. I wouldn't want to spend a whole day with two other people. They are both so easy going and know how to make a long day, short. As seen in my previous blogs Mr. Ziegler is a role model of mine so to be by him all day long is fun, and my sister is just the best. She always wears a smile on her face and never is down. She is the reason I always try and stay positive and spread my happiness to those around me.
Raise the Roof allows for a lot of different opportunities, but the one that needs to be taken advantage of are the bonding experiences and friendships that are created. I love this competition and I can't wait for that time of year to swing around once again.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Without the Seniors
As we all know the inevitable is upon us. The school year is ending. In many, many ways this is fantastic news and is worth getting excited about, but a touch of sadness creeps into our hearts as the days narrow down. In a blink of an eye all of my senior friends are going to be going to college and I'm going to be the senior. The oldest class, the big dogs of the school. In one month that becomes reality for me. Unfortunately this year will be harder than most because I've become very attached to our senior class and have created many friendships that will probably last a lifetime with them. If only they didn't have to leave.
As we all know I am involved in choir and football, hence from my blogs, and with that diversity allows me to meet a lot of different people and become friends with a lot of people. Going into next year I know there will be a lot of gaps from the seniors that are leaving, and most of them will probably never be able to be replaced. In football I have a lot of friends going off to do great things in college. Two friends of mine, Shaun Beyer and Dalles Jacobus, are going to play football at the University of Iowa. That is an incredible accomplishment! About four other friends of mine are going to go play division two football, and some are going to play baseball as well. To me that's incredible. I wish all of them luck next year and hope for them to be successful both on and off the field.
Choir is where I will miss the most people. The worst part about it is that in Moonlight Express and Chamber Choir, I will be the only returning bass in both groups. The rest were seniors. Two great friends of mine that I especially will miss are Brennan Urbi and Rizwan Sidhu. Those guys have taught me so much music in the last two years, and have been a fantastic influence on my high school career. I know they will both be very successful in college because their work ethics are second to none, and they are all around good people. I roomed with them in Nashville this past year which brought us closer than ever, and I know we will continue to be friends for a long time.
Walking around the hallways, hitting guys on the football field, and performing shows on stages will not be the same without this class of seniors. I'm as good of friends with some of them as I am with people in my own class, but as we all know, life will go on without them. A positive is that I'll get to know younger classmen now! I don't know hardly any of them so next year will be a fun experience in that aspect. The final negative to the seniors leaving is that I'll be one now. Most people don't think of that as a negative, but I see it as an end to a chapter. Sure the book has just begun, but those last four years are some of the best years of our lives, and it's almost done for me. The challenge I'm putting up to myself however is to be in a blog such as this. I want to be remembered by younger classmen as one of the best friends they have ever had, and have an impact on their lives. I can't wait to see what the future holds for me and all of the seniors about to leave Kennedy High School.
As we all know I am involved in choir and football, hence from my blogs, and with that diversity allows me to meet a lot of different people and become friends with a lot of people. Going into next year I know there will be a lot of gaps from the seniors that are leaving, and most of them will probably never be able to be replaced. In football I have a lot of friends going off to do great things in college. Two friends of mine, Shaun Beyer and Dalles Jacobus, are going to play football at the University of Iowa. That is an incredible accomplishment! About four other friends of mine are going to go play division two football, and some are going to play baseball as well. To me that's incredible. I wish all of them luck next year and hope for them to be successful both on and off the field.
Choir is where I will miss the most people. The worst part about it is that in Moonlight Express and Chamber Choir, I will be the only returning bass in both groups. The rest were seniors. Two great friends of mine that I especially will miss are Brennan Urbi and Rizwan Sidhu. Those guys have taught me so much music in the last two years, and have been a fantastic influence on my high school career. I know they will both be very successful in college because their work ethics are second to none, and they are all around good people. I roomed with them in Nashville this past year which brought us closer than ever, and I know we will continue to be friends for a long time.
Walking around the hallways, hitting guys on the football field, and performing shows on stages will not be the same without this class of seniors. I'm as good of friends with some of them as I am with people in my own class, but as we all know, life will go on without them. A positive is that I'll get to know younger classmen now! I don't know hardly any of them so next year will be a fun experience in that aspect. The final negative to the seniors leaving is that I'll be one now. Most people don't think of that as a negative, but I see it as an end to a chapter. Sure the book has just begun, but those last four years are some of the best years of our lives, and it's almost done for me. The challenge I'm putting up to myself however is to be in a blog such as this. I want to be remembered by younger classmen as one of the best friends they have ever had, and have an impact on their lives. I can't wait to see what the future holds for me and all of the seniors about to leave Kennedy High School.
Moonlight Express
"Love, walked right in and drove my shadows away." Moonlight Express. The varsity jazz ensemble at Kennedy High School. This is my second year in the group and I love every minute of it. The class is so refreshing and is a great way to end the school day. The group size is nice and small, sixteen people, and has four people per voice part; soprano, alto, tenor, bass. Each year we sing a competition set of songs which ranges from four to five songs. We had a very fun and relaxed year, and bonded together as a group.
Competitively we did very well this past year. We had to competitions and placed a one rating at each of them which is the best there is. As a second year member it was fun to perform at venues from the previous year and see friends from other schools show off their jazz talent as well. The theme of our set was about love. The songs we sang were; "I'm Beginning to See the Light", "I Love You", "Love Walked in", and "Route 66." The songs were extremely fun, and were also challenging for us because they were all different styles. Our first song was up beat and energetic, the second was very challenging with intricate harmonies which made it a fan favorite, then was our slow ballad, and we ended with a swing tune. The diversity in vocal jazz is what makes it very enjoyable for me because nothing ever gets boring, and it's never the same old same old.
However besides our competition set, we also learned an additional song to perform at performances and school events, and that was "Chili Con Carne." At first we didn't know if it would take off as a hit, but it is now our most liked song and is my personal favorite. The tempo is up beat, almost salsa like, creating for an engaging atmosphere. I want to dance every time I sing it! People liked it so much that a fan of ours asked us to record the song so that it can be ran onto CDs or uploaded to YouTube. We have yet to do this but are planning on recording very soon. Also if interested in hearing our competition set and "Chili Con Carne" we are holding a concert on April 28th and hope many can attend.
Moonlight Express is a fun and challenging group that is an honor to be apart of. Not many people are allowed into the group and to be able to be a two year, potentially a three year, member is humbling. The group this year has helped me create some memories, and has really opened me up as a jazz singer. I can't wait to see what direction the group goes in next year, and hopefully I will be along for the ride again.
Competitively we did very well this past year. We had to competitions and placed a one rating at each of them which is the best there is. As a second year member it was fun to perform at venues from the previous year and see friends from other schools show off their jazz talent as well. The theme of our set was about love. The songs we sang were; "I'm Beginning to See the Light", "I Love You", "Love Walked in", and "Route 66." The songs were extremely fun, and were also challenging for us because they were all different styles. Our first song was up beat and energetic, the second was very challenging with intricate harmonies which made it a fan favorite, then was our slow ballad, and we ended with a swing tune. The diversity in vocal jazz is what makes it very enjoyable for me because nothing ever gets boring, and it's never the same old same old.
However besides our competition set, we also learned an additional song to perform at performances and school events, and that was "Chili Con Carne." At first we didn't know if it would take off as a hit, but it is now our most liked song and is my personal favorite. The tempo is up beat, almost salsa like, creating for an engaging atmosphere. I want to dance every time I sing it! People liked it so much that a fan of ours asked us to record the song so that it can be ran onto CDs or uploaded to YouTube. We have yet to do this but are planning on recording very soon. Also if interested in hearing our competition set and "Chili Con Carne" we are holding a concert on April 28th and hope many can attend.
Moonlight Express is a fun and challenging group that is an honor to be apart of. Not many people are allowed into the group and to be able to be a two year, potentially a three year, member is humbling. The group this year has helped me create some memories, and has really opened me up as a jazz singer. I can't wait to see what direction the group goes in next year, and hopefully I will be along for the ride again.
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Walk Up Music
"Work. Work. Work. Work. Work." It's a beautiful April Day at Veteran Memorial Stadium and the leadoff man from the Cedar Rapids Kernels walks up to the plate. Now when most people go to a baseball game who really thinks or pays attention to the walk up music? Not a ton of people, but as a bat boy and listening to the same songs over and over, night in and night out, you start to take notice. I started to wonder why to people pick the songs that they do, and why does that song have meaning to them? Well after a bat boy for the Cedar Rapids Kernels you start to figure it out.
As well known to many outsiders, many baseball players come from Spanish speaking countries, such as the Dominican Republic, Cuba, or Venezuela. Those players walk up songs are always my favorite because most of the time it's Latino. And one thing I've learned about these songs is that they are prominent in the places that they lived. For example Donza Kaduro was a big hit in the Dominican Republic last year, so the Hispanic on our team had that as his walk up song. And later I noticed that players from the south had country music while those from the cities had hip hop/rap, and one day a light bulb went off in my head. Those songs aren't used to pump them up, they are used to represent where they are from and show the world what they are.
The life of a baseball player is complicated. They travel all the time going from city to city from team to team. They don't have a "real" family. They jump around from host family to host family because that's what this job requires. They play baseball every day in hopes of someday making it to the big leagues and establishing a family and a nice leaving. I can only imagine how hard it would be to not see your family hardly at all for six months of the year, and travel none stop along that time period. So I think it's the coolest thing what these guys do. Their way of remembering home is their walk up song. Each player's song reminds them of their home, family, and friends. What else can you ask from a guy?
So next time you are at a baseball game, listen to that music because it's not an accident. Those guys want you to know a little bit about them, so pay attention and learn from them.
As well known to many outsiders, many baseball players come from Spanish speaking countries, such as the Dominican Republic, Cuba, or Venezuela. Those players walk up songs are always my favorite because most of the time it's Latino. And one thing I've learned about these songs is that they are prominent in the places that they lived. For example Donza Kaduro was a big hit in the Dominican Republic last year, so the Hispanic on our team had that as his walk up song. And later I noticed that players from the south had country music while those from the cities had hip hop/rap, and one day a light bulb went off in my head. Those songs aren't used to pump them up, they are used to represent where they are from and show the world what they are.
The life of a baseball player is complicated. They travel all the time going from city to city from team to team. They don't have a "real" family. They jump around from host family to host family because that's what this job requires. They play baseball every day in hopes of someday making it to the big leagues and establishing a family and a nice leaving. I can only imagine how hard it would be to not see your family hardly at all for six months of the year, and travel none stop along that time period. So I think it's the coolest thing what these guys do. Their way of remembering home is their walk up song. Each player's song reminds them of their home, family, and friends. What else can you ask from a guy?
So next time you are at a baseball game, listen to that music because it's not an accident. Those guys want you to know a little bit about them, so pay attention and learn from them.
Large Group Contest
This past Saturday was State Large Group Contest at Kennedy High School. This contest consisted of individual singers performing solos, small band and orchestra groups, and small choirs performing in front of judges to get a rating. The ratings go from five being the least to one which is sounding outstanding. For almost all solo students, which is the main portion of the event, they are voice lesson students who have been practicing their songs for months at a time. I've never performed a solo at this annual event because I've never had a voice teacher. I've just sung how I do and if people don't like it then so be it. I've always thought that the sound I make is pretty good and acceptable into many choirs. Also I could never repeat the same song over and over with the same teacher for over four months. I would get so bored going into a lesson two days every week and working on the same parts over and over again.
This year however I did participate in a choir. The Kennedy Chamber Choir. We consisted of twenty four singers and we sang two songs at this contest. One interesting thing about this contest is that solo acts have seven minutes to perform their song while we as a choir only had five. A little bizarre right? The larger group has less time? But regardless we made it work and sang two beautiful songs. The first was Matona Mia by Orlando di Lasso and the second was Lay a Garland by Robert Pearsall. Both songs show off a lot of diversity that our group can do and allowed us to showcase some of our best work. As an assemble we have practiced these songs for about two months, really trying to perfect each one. We also prepared one other song but for the sake of the time limit we were not able to perform that one. Luckily our hard work paid off! We received a one rating and kept our group name at high standards.
It's crazy to think about how much time us as an assemble put in for five minutes though. We put months' worth of work into three songs in order to get a rating from one judge. What if she didn't like us? What if she didn't find our pieces difficult enough? Luckily she loved them and felt the energy and compassion from our music, but its crazy how this sort of a process works. Soon I'll discuss the All-State Music process and you will really find out how crazy some music contests are.
As a whole though I was glad to be a part of the State Large Group Contest and showcase what the Kennedy Chamber Choir has to bring to the table. And even though we only performed for five minutes, the music we made was better than any rehearsal we ever had and the memories of the feeling of performing it will never disappoint.
This year however I did participate in a choir. The Kennedy Chamber Choir. We consisted of twenty four singers and we sang two songs at this contest. One interesting thing about this contest is that solo acts have seven minutes to perform their song while we as a choir only had five. A little bizarre right? The larger group has less time? But regardless we made it work and sang two beautiful songs. The first was Matona Mia by Orlando di Lasso and the second was Lay a Garland by Robert Pearsall. Both songs show off a lot of diversity that our group can do and allowed us to showcase some of our best work. As an assemble we have practiced these songs for about two months, really trying to perfect each one. We also prepared one other song but for the sake of the time limit we were not able to perform that one. Luckily our hard work paid off! We received a one rating and kept our group name at high standards.
It's crazy to think about how much time us as an assemble put in for five minutes though. We put months' worth of work into three songs in order to get a rating from one judge. What if she didn't like us? What if she didn't find our pieces difficult enough? Luckily she loved them and felt the energy and compassion from our music, but its crazy how this sort of a process works. Soon I'll discuss the All-State Music process and you will really find out how crazy some music contests are.
As a whole though I was glad to be a part of the State Large Group Contest and showcase what the Kennedy Chamber Choir has to bring to the table. And even though we only performed for five minutes, the music we made was better than any rehearsal we ever had and the memories of the feeling of performing it will never disappoint.
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Wildhorse Saloon
I look down and see a sea of plaid on the dance floor below me. The building in the shape of a horseshoe representing the name of the saloon. A country music band is playing for all of Show Choir Nationals, and line dancing is being taught on the dance floor. A lot of "yeehawing" and "wooing" is taking place down below, but one thing is for certain. There is a smile on everyone's face and no one wishes to be anywhere else. The Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, Tennessee.
This saloon holds a lot of memories for me. I was there for the first time back in 2014 when my sister went there for her Show Choir Nationals appearance. Two years ago was not the same as this year however. Two years ago I hung out with my family and watched Danielle have the time of her life with all of her friends. This time that was me. I had one of the greatest nights ever at that saloon.
If you read my "School Dances" post from earlier this spring I mentioned how school dances should be fun and drama free. I explained how I wish they were like Hairspray, in how everyone had fun and just danced, not worrying about others around them. The Wildhorse Saloon gave me that experience. I had a fun night with my friends, my teammates, and enjoyed a once in a lifetime experience.
Going into the saloon there was a hype within my show choir. Everyone knew that I enjoyed country music more than anyone so they expected me to go "all out country." And I did not disappoint. I wore my boots, my plaid shirt, my blue jeans. I had the whole look for me. I also taught them some line dancing moves which was a ton of fun for me. There were two great moments in the night though. One moment was when Greased Lightning came on. Back in the eighth grade I had a solo in my show choir for Greased Lightning so everyone associates my name with that song. I danced in the middle of a huge crowd of people, not knowing half of them, and danced the whole song that night in the saloon. I found out later that a mom of a school in California got a picture of me and put it up on their Facebook page to show the fun that show choir can bring. That's an unbelievable feeling. The second moment was being able to dance with my girlfriend in a venue such as that. Everyone was enjoying themselves, and dancing around us and it felt like a movie. When everyone looks at you and tells you how cute you two are. Then no matter what goes on around us it seemed like she was the only one in the saloon. That's what it felt like and it made the night so special to me. It wouldn't have been nearly the same without her or my entire team.
The Wildhorse Saloon now holds a special spot in my heart. It made me some gold balls in my head for lifelong memories. What a night it was. What an incredible night.
This saloon holds a lot of memories for me. I was there for the first time back in 2014 when my sister went there for her Show Choir Nationals appearance. Two years ago was not the same as this year however. Two years ago I hung out with my family and watched Danielle have the time of her life with all of her friends. This time that was me. I had one of the greatest nights ever at that saloon.
If you read my "School Dances" post from earlier this spring I mentioned how school dances should be fun and drama free. I explained how I wish they were like Hairspray, in how everyone had fun and just danced, not worrying about others around them. The Wildhorse Saloon gave me that experience. I had a fun night with my friends, my teammates, and enjoyed a once in a lifetime experience.
Going into the saloon there was a hype within my show choir. Everyone knew that I enjoyed country music more than anyone so they expected me to go "all out country." And I did not disappoint. I wore my boots, my plaid shirt, my blue jeans. I had the whole look for me. I also taught them some line dancing moves which was a ton of fun for me. There were two great moments in the night though. One moment was when Greased Lightning came on. Back in the eighth grade I had a solo in my show choir for Greased Lightning so everyone associates my name with that song. I danced in the middle of a huge crowd of people, not knowing half of them, and danced the whole song that night in the saloon. I found out later that a mom of a school in California got a picture of me and put it up on their Facebook page to show the fun that show choir can bring. That's an unbelievable feeling. The second moment was being able to dance with my girlfriend in a venue such as that. Everyone was enjoying themselves, and dancing around us and it felt like a movie. When everyone looks at you and tells you how cute you two are. Then no matter what goes on around us it seemed like she was the only one in the saloon. That's what it felt like and it made the night so special to me. It wouldn't have been nearly the same without her or my entire team.
The Wildhorse Saloon now holds a special spot in my heart. It made me some gold balls in my head for lifelong memories. What a night it was. What an incredible night.
Eric Whitacre
"Words like violence, break the silence, come crashing in, into my little world." The mysterious sound and darkness behind the masterful artist, Eric Whitacre. This man makes world-class music and makes a choir sound like angels. His songs incorporate a mix of light and dark meanings to convey whatever message he feels worthy, and this year for the first time my choir is taking on one of his songs. We may not sound like his choir does, but hopefully our performance will be able to convey his image.
Eric Whitacre is a next level type of composer and song writer. He takes a simple lyric line and lines it with intense, intricate undertone and overtone patterns. Also he is able to conduct a choir in such a way that all of the vowels are the same shape, and it sounds like 8 singers, instead of hundreds of singers singing 8 parts. The song we are trying in my choir this year is Enjoying the Silence. This song is one of his darker songs because it describes the death of a loved one. The overall pattern of the song starts soft and dark, grows to a forte middle, and ends with a silent whisper, as if the person has passed away. The genius in his composing is nothing that I have seen before though. He is a man ahead of his time. That's why whenever we rehearse his song, we give it an extra sort of special attention. We treat it differently than all of the other songs we rehearse and perform. It's not that the other songs aren't as worthy, it's just his song is in a whole new category of respect compared to the others.
Another interesting thing this man is able to do is make a virtual chorus. On YouTube he takes videos of individuals singing his songs, and is able to combine them in a way so that his song sounds like a choir singing it all in unison. Now that's talent. Being able to blend hundreds of voices that started all individually to make one great sound is nearly impossible, and he does it.
I listen to his songs all of the time because they are peaceful and help me calm down and focus on what I need to do. I can't wait to represent him in our next choir concert and sing one of the greatest modern day composers' masterpiece.
"Silence...Silence...Enjoy the Silence..."
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