On Jan. 30 and 31, the annual Perry County chorus concert was held at Susquenita High School.
This is an event where hand-picked students from both middle and high school are picked from each of the four Perry County schools to sing together for a weekend each year. The students took the days to learn pieces selected by the event’s guest conductors.
This year, the high school conductor, Dr. Kimberly Dunn Adams, came from West Chester University to help teach the PECO choir students learn more about the technicalities in music.
The pieces Adams chose for the high school choir were Kyrie by Franz Schubert, Your Hand and Mine by Marques L.A. Garrett, Where the Light Begins by Susan Labarr, Hark I Hear the Harps Eternal by Alice Parker, and finally, How Can I Keep from Singing by Gwyneth Walker.
The conductor for the middle school choir was Mr. Jacob Mandell, from the Curwensville School District. With Mandell’s help, the choir looked and sounded professional with their tall vowel sounds and memorized lyrics.
The pieces he selected for the ensemble to sing included Festival Santus by John Leavitt, Who Has Seen the Wind? By Jacob ven Hizen, Old Abram Brown (Friday Afternoons) by Nehamin Britten, The Road Not Taken by Ruth Elaine Schram, and Sisi ni Moja by Jacob Narverud.
Throughout the songs, there were plenty of opinions about which one was the best. Two high school choir singers gave their input on what song really spoke to them from this year’s county concert.
Junior James Heisey claims, “I think it’s Hark I Hear the Harps Eternal because I liked the balance that we had and the way we all put it together. It was really good.”
Freshman Madi Bailor, concurred. “My favorite song to sing was Hark I Hear the Harps Eternal. It’s such a pretty piece with a resonant tone. The lyrical meaning of acceptance and peace is beautiful, and the dynamics only add to the interest. Where the Light Begins was also pretty fun to sing because of its intricate movement,” she added.
The leaders of the Perry County chorus want to thank the Perry County School Boards and Administration for their help and support in making this concert possible and for continuing the tradition.
