2013 Fall Choir Concert
On Wednesday, October 16th, at 7pm,Talawanda High School hosted it’s annual Fall Choir Concert, in the Talawanda Performing Arts Center.
As is tradition, performing in the show was the Chamber Singers, Concert Choir, Fermata Nowhere, Show Choir, and Women’s Ensemble.
All of the choirs are directed by TJ Pearson, the Talawanda High School choral teacher and director.
This was the second year the Fall Choir Concert was held in the Talawanda Performing Arts Center, and should theoretically have fewer problems than the previous year . However, according to Pearson, “There were mishaps happening all day, technically and personnel wise, and thanks to the efforts of the students, it turned out to be a great concert anyway,” He adds “We succeeded against the odds.”
Talawanda High School started their 2013-2014 school year on September 18th, and the choirs have had since that first day of school to practice. The choirs were all adequately prepared, according Pearson. “All the individual choirs did rise to meet expectations, and even exceeded them,” Pearson said. “The only way that happens is when the individual students in the classes put their minds to preparing the best way possible.”
And with such a prepared performance being put on, fortunately, Pearson estimates 350-450 people attended the concert; “a full house,” he said.
This concert was a bit different compared to others though- in this concert, there were 3 special guests. These people were musicians, who performed along with the choirs at different points throughout the evening.
However, these musicians weren’t just your average guests- all the way from India, these musicians were featured in the program, and came to Talawanda High School to perform in the Global Rhythms event on Saturday, October 19th. Organized by one of the special guests, Srinivas Krisnan, who is also the founder of the Global Rhythms group, this event also involved the Talawanda High School choir students. The special guests also performed a piece on their own, with Krisnan and one of his peers being featured, during which, a sitar was played.
When asked what his favorite part of the show was, Talawanda High School science teacher and regular high school event attendee, Scott Schmid said, “The sitar player. I just really enjoyed that because it was an instrument I’d heard but hadn’t seen played before,” And Schmid is not alone- many audience members reported their favorite part of the show being the playing of the sitar.
Pearson, however, says that even though all the choirs performed very well, there is always room for improvement. “As a teacher and a musician, there’s always something more you can do. Even when something sounds perfect, we can always find something to change or make better,” Put simply, Pearson said, “Music is not a science.”
