Concert Memories

I love to attend school concerts whenever possible because I have fond memories of mine. I love to sing and appreciate great music, whether performed by professional bands, musicians, etc., or by the students.

And what is so great is that today’s music students don’t know it yet, but they will also have great memories of the songs, dances, and unplanned incidents of performing on stage during their school years.

One of my most special memories is when my friend Tessy and I stood together on the top riser to sing “Ring Those Christmas Bells” with the entire mixed chorus. We stood right at the end, and if anyone knows that song, there are a few high notes when singing the word “ring.” Tessy hit a high one, and her voice cracked, which cracked us up so much we were laughing and crying so hard that we almost fell off the risers. From the audience, you saw the two of us disappear into the group of students, making a noticeable space in the choir.

Another time, our singing group, the Choraliers, worked very hard making a Kleenex tissue snowman as our centerpieces for the Christmas performance. We also used hole punches and scissors and made tons of white paper confetti that we gathered into bags wired to the top of the stage. Then the backstage crew gently shook the bags at a particular time in our performance to make it look like it was softly snowing on us while we were standing around the snowman. We were dressed in coats, hats, and mittens to look like carolers singing Karen Carpenter’s song, “Merry Christmas, Darling.” My singing partner for that particular number was Dana Grover. That boy could sing! And I have to smile when I remember times when we were at the league music contests when we may or may not have gotten into trouble. Or I should say we didn’t get caught!

The one thing I disliked about my high school singing career was our outfits. The year before I became a Choralier, the girls wore beautiful light blue dresses made of sheer and what looked like gossamer material spun by fairies. I couldn’t wait to get into that dress. But, lo and behold, when I auditioned and finally made it into the group, the dress was double knit and burgundy in color. Then my senior year, for whatever reason, our outfits were green, also double knit fabric!

But that didn’t spoil the music, since we sang popular songs, traditional songs, composed or arranged songs by some of our group and by our music teacher, Stan Murphy...who, by the way, has been part of my family since the day he walked into the school, whether he knew it then or not! (Inside joke!)

So to the music group this year, I envy your outfits and shoes, which make a fabulous

statement, and I have enjoyed attending your concerts over the last several years.

And now to end this musical editorial, it just wouldn’t be right not to give a shout-out to the Choraliers I had the privilege of singing with during my junior and senior years of high school. They were Jan Cunningham, Bob Bagby, Mark Kreller, Cheryl Turnbull, Terry Carsten, Janette Sutton, Chet Look, Debbie Dix, Coral Melton, Kerry Mc-Cue, Dana Grover, Jolene Desbien, John Melton, Nancy Votapka, Mike Ballard, Sam Chesney, Eric Bird, Randall Peacock, Mitzi Laska, Kay Phelps, Susan Patterson, Kay Flint, Tricia McCall, and Becky Romeiser.