High School Choral Festival

17th ANNUAL HIGH SCHOOL CHORAL FESTIVAL
A “MASTER CLASS FOR CHOIRS”
Sponsored by the Kalamazoo Bach Festival Society

Guest Clinician: SIGRID JOHNSON, Associate Conductor, VocalEssence and a member of the voice and choral faculty of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.

     Come and hear how beautiful choral music is created during the Kalamazoo Bach Festival Society’s 17th annual High School Choral Festival on Wednesday and Thursday, February 4 and 5, in Kalamazoo College’s Light Fine Arts Building. Clinician SIGRID JOHNSON, Associate Conductor, VocalEssence and a member of the voice and choral faculty of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, will coach ten school choirs from across southwest and mid- Michigan.
     The Choral Festival begins with a welcome, followed by 20 minute segments for each choir to perform two pieces for Ms. Johnson, the other choirs, their conductors, and any area music lovers and guests who would like to attend. The festival is non-adjudicated and provides singers with an opportunity for education and growth in a non-competitive setting. All choirs remain in the auditorium so that they may hear the others and learn from the clinician’s comments.
     The Festival runs from 9:10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. both days. Ms. Johnson will prepare and conduct all students in a performance of Jeffery Ames arrangement of “Everything That Hath Breath” from 12:10 to 1:20 p.m. each day with all choirs singing together.
     The High School Choral Festival in February is a free event open to the public. For further information regarding any of the Bach Festival’s educational outreach events or concerts, visit their web site at kalamazoobachfestival.org.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015
9:10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Light Fine Arts Building, Kalamazoo College

9:10 Welcome
9:15-11:05 Choral Workshops with Sigrid Johnson (20 minutes each)
? Kalamazoo Central High School Hawthorne Singers, Theresa Williams-Johnson, Director
? Plainwell High School Treble Choir, Denise Beauchamp, Director
? Portage Northern High School Songleaders Chorale, Whitney Weiner, Director
? Three Rivers High School Aristocrats, Joel Moore, Director
? Vicksburg High School Chamber Singers, Dusty Morris, Director
12:10-1:20 Coaching and mass choir performance of “Everything That Hath Breath,
Sigrid Johnson, director

Thursday, February 5, 2015
9:10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Light Fine Arts Building, Kalamazoo College
9:10 Welcome
9:15-11:05 Choral Workshops with Sigrid Johnson (20 minutes each)
? Marshall High School Singers, Laura Gilbertson, Director
? Portage Central High School Chamber Singers, Cynthia Hunter, Director
? Rockford High School Chamber Singers, Mandy Scott, Director
? Schoolcraft High School Chamber Singers, Laurenne McDougall, Director
? West Ottawa High School Vocalaires, Pam Pierson , Director
12:10-1:20 Coaching and mass choir performance of “Everything That Hath Breath,
Sigrid Johnson, director