I have just arrived home from the infamous Premier Concert that the Kennedy show choirs put on every year to give a sneak peak into their shows for the season. I must say. I have mixed opinions!
My first thoughts as i was walking in to the building probably had to do with the fact that i needed to get the camera out of the Torch room in order to take these pictures. But my second thoughts probably had to do with the immense amount of people who were already in line, waiting to enter the auditorium and claim their seats. It was only 6:10! The concert started at 7:00.
After receiving help from a very nice janitor who opened up the Torch room for me so i could retrieve the camera, i made my way back to the auditorium where i met up with Hanna Krivit and Annie Feltes who wanted to help take the pictures. We found some seats and waited out the rest of the hour.
The show began with a performance from Moonlight Express, Kennedy's jazz choir. When people think about show choir, the images that come to mind tend to include 45+ sparkly outfits, with lots of singing and dancing. Moonlight Express is also a show choir. Though there is not a lot of dancing, the singers use their voices to their full potential and never fail to impress.
The first song performed by Moonlight Express was If We Ever Needed the Lord Before, arranged by Robert Sterling, featuring soloists Marie Treangen (there are photos of this wonderful lady on my photography page!), and Will Heller. This was a wonderful song, i thought, to start off the night. It grabbed my attention at first, but it was rather repetitive. I also didn't think that it showed off the different sections very well. Everyone sang together except for the soloists. I like me some diversity! I have pretty much the same review for the second song, Coloudburst arranged by Kirby Shaw. If there were any soloists for this song, i didn't remember them. Which means they should make themselves more memorable! Mr. Armstrong has a lot to live up to, replacing Mr. Sands. If this were a "who wore it better?" poll. I would vote Mr. Sands.
The freshmen show choir, Chanteurs, was next. They performed their opener, Disturbia, arranged by S. Anderson, their ballad, You haven't Seen the Last of Me, arranged by Dr. Martin Hearne, and Telephone, arranged by Mac Huff. Typically, i think Chanteurs does a rough job at their first performance, but i was rather impressed with them, for their first performance. You can't compare Chanteurs to Happiness or Protege, they're on a whole other level, but Chantuers seemed pretty put together tonight! I didn't like the first solo by Myah McCoy, it seemed too forced, but i'm sure that with a little vocal training, she can work it. The ballad soloist (sorry i don't know the name!) i thought did fantastic! She used her voice and it was stunning. She stood out against the background vocals. The only critique i have for that one would be stage presence. The ballad soloist was rather awkward and didn't seem to know what to do with her hands, but all of that will come in time.
"Give me a P!" "P!" "Give me an R!" "R!" "Give me an O!" "O!" "Give me a T!" "T!" "Give me an E with an accent mark!" "E with an accent mark!" "Give me a G!" "G!" "Give me another E with an accent mark!" "Another E with an accent mark!" "What does that spell?!" "PROTEGE!"
Protege has a lot of changes this year, with a whole new group and a brand new director, Mr. Armstrong. Like Mr. Sands did, Armstrong directs both Protege and Moonlight Express. He has a lot to live up to, and i don't think he's there yet. I was rather disappointed with the lack of sound coming from the stage during Protege's performance. Though i love the message Armstrong i trying to get across, i would have liked it more if he hadn't announced it to the audience, so they could figure it out for themselves. I dunno. I hope that protege can pull louder voices out of their bodies, or they're going to lose points! They performed Sing, arranged by Steve Shanley, a medley with You Move Me and The Sound, arranged by Dr. Martin Hearne, and Spread the Love around fromSister Act, also arranged by Martin Hearne.
Happiness! Oh my goodness. There is no other show choir that can compare. Their stage presence, their confidence, their voices, their choreography, it is all amazing. Performing The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face, the opener, arranged by Michael Reese, Bailey Steinke rocked her solo. She came out of no where and fit the role perfectly! The full skirts were used to their full potential, that made for some great pictures! Facials were also put to use, and were really effective! The ballad, a medley, Times of Your Life and I Want More, arranged by Anita Cracacuer, blew me away. I think i like last years ballad better, but only because it was asong that brought down the house. This ballad, however, has a beautiful section of aucapella (i have no idea how to spell that), it is super duper effective. No Joke. And i love the closer!!!!!!!! It puts together lyrics from four different songs to create a whole new song called In the Club, arranged by Joshua Greene. It is a mind blower. SO MUCH FUN! I can't wait to see the rest of the show!!! And Ben Feltes, your solo was super cool.
I would also like to congratulate Happiness on their win of the most popular show choir in America. Good Job!
Sarah =]
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