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Bohemian Rhapsody, Glee Style

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Bohemiam Rhapsody Glee style
Bohemian Rhapsody Glee style

The television show Glee has made show choirs popular and during last weeks Elmwood-Murdock spring concert the high school choir broke away from their traditional style of robes to give us a Glee or show choir rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.

I talked to Mrs. Colbert, the vocal director, on what prompted her to try this and she actually had to be convinced by her friend Noelle, who is a choreographer at The Lofte Theatre.   Noelle had a goal to do such a project and was very convincing.

The students really wanted to sing Bohemian Rhapsody and had been requesting it for several years. The song was a reward for a good years work, yet Mrs. Colbert wasn’t convinced if the students would embrace dancing and adding movements. Remember, no one auditioned or signed up for a “show choir” and these students represent about 50% of the student body population.

Show choirs normally are not this big, and with the various personalities in such a big group there might be some ruffled feathers. There was, but their choir director diffused and redirected to create an overall positive attitude that thoroughly impressed.

This was the last concert for the seniors and they really went out with a bang.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c68bf2O6yZ8]

To watch and listen to this choir that earned superiors at  districts visit my YouTube Channel

Day 137/365: Choir Performance Wins Top Score at District Music Contest

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I never get tired of bragging about the students at Elmwood-Murdock High School, especially when my son and daughter are involved. Here our choir performs at the district music contest the song “Things That Never Die”. They received “1’s”  from all three judges receiving the highest score of a 1+ for the second year in a row.   Twelve schools competed and only two schools received the high score.

HIgh School Choir, Things that Never Die
Elmwood-Murdock Choir

For your listening pleasure here is the video from my YouTube Channel.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5lSqV_2Tk4]

If you have followed previous articles you know we are a small rural school district from a community of less than a thousand people in Eastern Nebraska. Our high school has a student body population of less than 120 students. That’s approximately thirty students in each graduating class. To have this many students (almost 50%) in choir is simply amazing and the credit has to go to Mrs. Betty Colbert our choir director.

She has made choir “cool” and coaches the students to find their voice. Many students sang solos at districts (including my son) and the girls sang Italian Sonatas earning top scores. The students participate in honor choirs and learn from top vocal practitioners in the field. In 2009 they even were invited and sang at Carnegie Hall, an experience I’ll never forget.

Glee Has Made High School Music Cool

The television show Glee and movie High School Musical and  Pitch Perfect has helped make high school choir and singing cool again. That and American Idol. It doesn’t matter why, but I’m glad. Many people have made fun of Glee and don’t like the mashup covers of popular songs but it has elevated music programs around the country. Glee style show choirs are extremely popular

Glee – The Complete SeriesPitch PerfectPitch PerfectAugust RushHigh School Musical 2High School Musical 1-3

Music in Our Schools

 

Mon Valley schools honored for commitment to music education

“Ensuring that every child has access to music in schools is central to the NAMM Foundation’s work, but a commitment from the entire community, including local music industry leaders, keeps music in schools,” foundation executive director Mary Luehrsen …
CMCSS makes list for Best Community for Music Education

Ensuring that every child has access to music in schools requires commitment by students, teachers, and those who determine school budgets,” said Mary Luehrsen, executive director of the NAMM Foundation. “We commend the districts and schools that …
Why cut music programs that help children with their learning?

However, we know that is shortsighted, as educational research supports music in schools. In performance groups, if not many students are being served or if the quality of performance is lacking, music becomes a target. This is too bad, because music …
Music education helps mould well-rounded students

Music educators from across New York state came to Albany to spend the day meeting with their legislators to advocate for continued support for music in schools and to discuss the current challenges that face education. Music educators from NYSSMA Zone …
Harmony Project Mentors Youth Through the Power Of Music

Unfortunately, many school districts are quick to cut the music programs whenever budget issues arise, but the statistics show that there’s value in keeping music in schools. According to the Arete Music Academy, children who take music lessons are …

 

 

 

 

 

Day 114/365: Making Piano Music

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Day 114: Church

During Lent and Advent Vespers on Wednesday nights, I am the piano accompanist. I love those nights, especially during Lent, sitting a few feet from Pastor, listening to the Passion expand each week until Easter.

I try to arrive at church early, about forty-five minutes so I can warm up and play some pre-service music. Lorie Line is my favorite and The Heritage Collection II and play it from cover to cover.

 

 

Top Gun: Dangerzone Theme Song

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy55D0aPl1I&fs=1&hl=en_US]

Something a little extra for your listening enjoyment. The music Danger Zone from Top Gun. Both my son and daughter play in the Elmwood-Murdock High School band and tonight was their annual fundraiser.

Over 600 people attended the spaghetti dinner and listened to the various bands from the elementary, junior high, jazz band and high school band. Jen plays percussion, in this song the timpani, which is awesome! My senior plays the trumpet.

If you have been following this blog you might remember that both communities together have a population of about 1000 people, so to say we had a good turnout is an understatement. A lot of this is due to our band director Michael Hanson. When he arrived the band had dwindled from a strong group of over 60 students to the low twenties. In just a few years his leadership has encouraged students to once again pursue music and strive to be the best.

During the fall the students compete in marching band competitions including the Apple Jack Festival (1st place the past three years) and in 2010 won 1st place in their division and third overall at the Harvest of Harmony parade in Grand Island Nebraska. This festival hosts over 100 high school marching bands  in one of the oldest high school marching band competitions in the Midwest, now going on 70 years.

Last year they were invited to march in the Washington DC, Memorial Day parade. It was quite the experience.

More videos on the band and choir can be viewed on my YouTube Channel, including their other piece The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers, A Symphonic Suite

The Arts Are Alive in a Small Nebraska Town

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I live in the small community of Elmwood–Murdock Nebraska. Really they are two separate towns, six miles apart, but we are a community that share together. We share a common culture, a choice for living outside of a metropolitan area (Omaha or Lincoln) and we share our children. No, not in the literal sense, but we share their accomplishments, and support of our youth. We don’t have a movie theatre, a shopping mall, or other “popular” activities, our social life and entertainment revolves around our school. This brings us together.

Our entire school district kindergarten through high school consists of approximately 425 students (depending on who moved this year) and the high school has on average 120 students total in grades 9-12. With that being said many would think we would have limited activities and little exposure to music and the arts. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

The Marching and Concert Band is 73 students strong. Almost a 70% participation rate and recently they marched in the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington DC. This is directly related to our band director, Mr. Michael Hansens’ dedication and talent who took a band of 25 students and grew it to a size rivaling the big city schools. They compete in several marching band competitions including Harvest of Harmony Parade, one of the oldest and biggest in the country, and because of their winning reputation received the invitation to Washington D.C. Take a look at them below. Yes we are proud.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twLsi0s0p_g&hl=en_US&fs=1]

In addition to the Marching and Concert Band is the high school choir, and in our school choir was cool before Glee was even on the air. In 2003 Mrs. Betty Colbert, the choir director started with 12 students and with her guidance it has grown to over 60 voices. Many were students with hidden talent that just needed to be coached and given confidence. They have gone on to win many contests winning superiors from all judges.

Their highest achievement was singing at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 2009. Although I can’t publish their crowning performance, here is a sample of why the whole community attends our concerts.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLnknIG3H10&hl=en_US&fs=1]

So now you can see why we are proud of our students, they perform sing at various events during the year and more of their performances can be found on my YouTube Channel

Community Links of Interest

Elmwood City-Data (pop 668)

Murdock City- Data (pop 264)

Elmwood-Murdock School District

Marching Through Adversity