Music Department News
Four RFA musicians selected for All State
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Select Choir presents "All American"
rehearsal
The Rome Free Academy Select Choir will present the themed Broadway Showcase “All American” on Tuesday, Nov. 10th at 7:30 p.m. in the RFA auditorium. The revue style concert will feature soloists, dancers, small ensembles, and the choir performing songs in four thematic acts. Songs for the performance were selected to appeal to all ages and includes special tributes for Veterans Day. A video of interviews recorded by Bobby Farrell for the Veteran’s Memory Project while a student at RFA will be shown to the audience before the show begins. “Preparing these songs was a musical history learning experience for many of the students”, said Mrs. Edwards. “Most of the songs were written in the 1940’s and the students were just as excited to learn them as young people in the 40’s were to hear them on the radio or in a movie". Preparing the show has a personal meaning for several of the students as they have family members who have either served in the armed forces or are presently serving.
“Lullaby of Broadway” from 42nd Street opens Act I, Broadway Memories. The act includes a solo performance of “You Can’t Get a Man with a Gun” from Annie Get Your Gun and a group performance of “How About a Cheer for the Navy” and “This is the Army” written by Irving Berlin for his 1942 all-soldier Broadway musical. The soft-shoe melody, “Thanks for the Memory” often sung by Bob Hope for his USO shows is also included in the opening act. “I have a girl’s trio performing the Fred Astaire, Jack Buchanan, and Nanette Fabray spoof “Triplets” from The Band Wagon” said Mrs. Edwards. “It’s one of my favorite movie musicals and the song is quite clever and funny.” Broadway Memories concludes with two songs from South Pacific; the duet “Honey Bun” and “There is Nothing Like a Dame” featuring the men of the Select Choir.
“Lullaby of Broadway” from 42nd Street opens Act I, Broadway Memories. The act includes a solo performance of “You Can’t Get a Man with a Gun” from Annie Get Your Gun and a group performance of “How About a Cheer for the Navy” and “This is the Army” written by Irving Berlin for his 1942 all-soldier Broadway musical. The soft-shoe melody, “Thanks for the Memory” often sung by Bob Hope for his USO shows is also included in the opening act. “I have a girl’s trio performing the Fred Astaire, Jack Buchanan, and Nanette Fabray spoof “Triplets” from The Band Wagon” said Mrs. Edwards. “It’s one of my favorite movie musicals and the song is quite clever and funny.” Broadway Memories concludes with two songs from South Pacific; the duet “Honey Bun” and “There is Nothing Like a Dame” featuring the men of the Select Choir.
School Days, includes the selections “Little Known Facts” and “Glee Club Rehearsal” from You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. A male trio sings of the favorite school pastime of girl watching in the song “Standing on the Corner” from the musical The Most Happy Fella. The song gained further popularity after being recorded by the Mills Brothers in the 1950’s. The energetic song “13” from the recent Broadway musical hit of the same name composed by Jason Robert Brown has the students dancing and singing about teenage life. His more poignant tune “A Little More Homework”, a metaphor for life, concludes Act II. “You will see how much these kids love to sing and perform during those two numbers” said Mrs. Edwards. “They put their whole hearts and souls into those songs and the audience will feel it.”
A digital slide show of recent trips by JROTC to Gettysburg and Washington D.C. prepared by social studies teacher Charlie Clifford will be shown during intermission. Following the intermission the RFA Jazz Voices, a division of the Select Choir, will take the audience back to the 1940's in Swing Time with the songs “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”, “Sing, Sing, Sing”, “It Don’t Mean a Thing”, “Billy-a-dick-tick-tack” and “A Tisket-a-Tasket”. The final theme of the evening, American Salute, opens with a solo rendition of the famous poem “In Flanders Field” written during WWI by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. Select Choir will close the show with “America's Song” as recently performed by Will.i.am, Bono, Mary J. Blige, and Faith Hill at the president's inauguration and Celine Dion's version of “God Bless America”.
The Select Choir has a proud tradition of being made up of the best vocalists and performers at RFA. The choir has been in existence as an after school performance group for twenty-four years, first under the direction of Valerie Wood and presently by Mrs. Edwards since 2006. The members were selected by audition last June and includes sophomores Daniel Goewey, Chloe Cardwell, Elizabeth Sylvester; juniors Taylor Holst, Trevor Cardwell, Brittany Bartlett, Josh Eichhorn, Liz Silver; and seniors Stacy Spindler, Zach Wade, Amber Jones, Antonio Valdes, Pilar Padron, and Jordon Hoffman. The Select Choir will be accompanied by Jillian Gardner on piano and members of the RFA Jazz Band under the direction of Jake Meiss. Tickets are available from Select Choir members for $5 or at the door.
A digital slide show of recent trips by JROTC to Gettysburg and Washington D.C. prepared by social studies teacher Charlie Clifford will be shown during intermission. Following the intermission the RFA Jazz Voices, a division of the Select Choir, will take the audience back to the 1940's in Swing Time with the songs “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”, “Sing, Sing, Sing”, “It Don’t Mean a Thing”, “Billy-a-dick-tick-tack” and “A Tisket-a-Tasket”. The final theme of the evening, American Salute, opens with a solo rendition of the famous poem “In Flanders Field” written during WWI by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. Select Choir will close the show with “America's Song” as recently performed by Will.i.am, Bono, Mary J. Blige, and Faith Hill at the president's inauguration and Celine Dion's version of “God Bless America”.
The Select Choir has a proud tradition of being made up of the best vocalists and performers at RFA. The choir has been in existence as an after school performance group for twenty-four years, first under the direction of Valerie Wood and presently by Mrs. Edwards since 2006. The members were selected by audition last June and includes sophomores Daniel Goewey, Chloe Cardwell, Elizabeth Sylvester; juniors Taylor Holst, Trevor Cardwell, Brittany Bartlett, Josh Eichhorn, Liz Silver; and seniors Stacy Spindler, Zach Wade, Amber Jones, Antonio Valdes, Pilar Padron, and Jordon Hoffman. The Select Choir will be accompanied by Jillian Gardner on piano and members of the RFA Jazz Band under the direction of Jake Meiss. Tickets are available from Select Choir members for $5 or at the door.
Select choir member performs at Lincoln Center in NYC
Pilar Padron, RFA Senior
Hundreds of auditioned singers from around the world came to New York City in June of 2009 for a chance to work with Eric Whitacre, one of the most prominent composers of his generation, on a choral concert produced by Distinguished Concerts International – New York. Eric is a composer of choral, wind band, and electronic music whose rock star status with young musicians has brought him much recognition within the contemporary music scene. His music has received thousands of performances and his compositions have sold over 750,000 copies worldwide. After previously performing with a high school rock band in California, his first experiences singing in a college choir changed his life and he decided to study music formally. Eric went on to Juilliard, studied with Pulitzer Prize and Oscar-winning composer John Corigliano, and received his Master of Music degree. A 2006 album of his choral a cappella works, became an international best seller, appearing in the top ten of both Billboard’s and iTune’s Top Classical Albums charts and also earned a 2007 Grammy nomination for Best Choral Performance.
Distinguished Concerts International - New York is well known by performers, conductors, and composers for providing professional performing experiences in world-class concert halls. Participation in the concerts produced and promoted by DCINY is by invitation only. RFA student Pilar Padron, was chosen along with her Select Choir director, Mrs. Twyla Edwards to perform with the Distinguished Concerts Singers International in the program of music composed and conducted by Eric Whitacre on June 28th at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center. Pilar has studied voice privately with Anita Furman for five years. She sings in the RFA Select Choir, Jazz Voices, Concert Choir and also plays horn in the Wind Ensemble. In December of 2008, she was selected to perform as a soprano in the New York State School Music Association All State Chorus after achieving a perfect score on her vocal performance at the NYSSMA solo festival the previous spring.
Eric Whitacre, composer
Before arriving in New York, participants were required to learn and memorize all the pieces of music on their own. The evening featured eleven songs from Whitacre's most popular choral repertoire including Cloudburst, Sleep, Lux Aurumque, A Boy and A Girl, With A Lily In Your Hand, and a suite of three songs each from Animal Crackers I and Animal Crackers II. With a commission from DCINY, Whitacre composed two new works to premiere at the concert - the singers received that music only a few days before arriving in New York. I Walked the Boulevard and The Moon Is Hiding In Her Hair, with lyrics by e. e. cummings and incredible rhythms and sonorities by Eric Whitacre, quickly became favorites of the two singers from RFA. The performers arrived in New York on Thursday to be prepared for the weekends activities. Whitacre led a three hour rehearsal on Friday and a four hour rehearsal on Saturday at the Julliard School of Music. Mrs. Edwards said, “It was so interesting to see his reaction as a composer to hearing his new music performed live for the first time by a two hundred voice choir. He actually became quite giddy and literally jumped up and down with excitement. The music was quite difficult and I think I lot of singers were nervous that they might not have prepared it correctly. But seeing him react so enthusiastically was a relief and a joy.” A final dress rehearsal was held late Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Center before the performance. Following the concert, a reception was held at Tavern on the Green in Central Park for Mr. Whitacre and all the participants.
Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center
RFA Musical 2009 - The Wiz
Each spring RFA presents a production of a Broadway musical. Jake Meiss has directed and choreographed the productions since 2006. Past productions include Once Upon This Island in 2006, Little Shop of Horrors in 2007, Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2008, and The Wiz in 2009. Auditions are held in January and are open to all students at RFA. Rehearsals are held in the evenings Monday through Thursday with some weekend rehearsals scheduled as production nears. Outstanding students from RFA's music department are chosen as the instrumentalists for the musical orchestra or pit band.
The Wiz was presented in the RFA auditorium on Friday and Saturday, April 3rd and 4th at 7:30 p.m. For more information on past productions visit the RFA Musical website.