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Sarah McAuliffe, Sarah Keling and Sara McEwen perform at the concert.
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See photos from the concert.
HHS Choirs perform superbly
By Harrison Keely, Managing Editor
The Hayesville High School Treble and Show Choirs performed a spring concert both entertaining and exceptional at the 2008 Showcase Thursday, May 15.
The concert opened with more traditional pieces such as “Psalm 67” and “The Battle of Jericho”, as well as two pieces with Latin lyrics: “Parce Domine” and “Laudate Dominum.”
Before intermission, HHS Choral Director Leslie Setzer took a moment to recognize a few the seniors who would be graduating in June.
“They’ve worked so hard; I’m so proud of them,” Setzer told the audience, noting the difficulty students face when scheduling choir every year in high school.
Setzer asked students Ana Hadas and Jimmy Yu to step forward first. Describing both as assets to the choir, she said that Yu was not a senior but instead a foreign exchange student from China who would be leaving at the end of the year.
She then presented senior awards to students Danielle Ledford, Kayla Shaheen ank Kayla Mitchell. She also had an award for Alex Walters, who sung with the choir for three years but was unable to continue his last semester. Setzer spotted a shy Walters among the crowd in the auditorium and recognized him for his dedication.
The last group of students Setzer awarded had been in her classes for 3-4 years if not longer. Kasey Lents, Daniel Cothren, Sarah McAuliffe, Sarah Keling, Thomas Dixon, Sara McEwen and Karl Snow were honored for their commitment.
After acknowledging the tough decisions involved, Setzer announced the winners of her traditional senior choral service award for the male and female who had made the most difference in the choir. Dixon and McAuliffe both accepted the awards.
Even before a bouquet of flowers emerged from backstage, it was evident that the choir students loved their director by the hugs each award-winner gave her upon the calling of their name.
As the bouquet was gifted to Setzer, McEwen took the microphone to honor her director.
“We are so proud of her,” she said. “Mrs. Setzer works so hard every year to bring this all together... and you know how stressed out she is.”
To a laugh from the audience, McEwen stated that the students had gotten Setzer a massage and then asked for applause for the director.
The second part of the program was themed “Love is All You Need” and featured what could only be described as musical hippies grooving to engagingly smart choreography.
Keling and Dixon performed solos for the program’s title song.
“I rehearsed a lot on my solo,” Keling said, noting that it was her first. “It was amazing. I wasn’t really as nervous as I thought I was going to be.”
The title song was followed by Snow who strummed his guitar and sang solo for “I Will Follow You Into the Dark.” Snow’s performance of the acoustic ballad impeccably mimicked that of musician Ben Gibbard, who originally recorded the song in 2006.
After the Treble Choir performed a medley entitled “With Love From Motown”, Shaheen took the stage as a soloist for her rendition of the 1941 classic “At Last!” Shaheen dazzled as she sang, with two members of the choir waltzing behind her.
With the help of Yu as a soloist, the Show Choir presented a rockingly vivacious version of “Do You Love Me?”
Sitting on a row of stools at the front of the stage, The Treble Choir dedicated their next song, “Because You Loved Me,” to former HHS coach and teacher Buck Carney, who passed away in March. Soloists Tiffany Owens, Sarah James, Brandi Garrett and Natasha Clayton sang the song with a respect that filled the auditorium withe silence.
McAuliffe, whom Setzer announced would be majoring in music when she attends college in the fall, then took the stage to perform a solo from the musical “Brigadoon”: “Almost Like Being in Love.”
With a bright appearance and an even brighter voice, McAuliffe sang with an air of professionalism that complimented the more formal performances earlier in the evening.
McAuliffe said she enjoyed being able to perform a solo for the concert, though the pointed out that the piece was originally written as a duet.
“In the song they finish each other’s sentences,” she said. “So I was able to sing both of their parts at the same time.”
Students in the choirs were put in charge of coming up with the wild dance moves and costumes that made the show come alive, McAuliffe said.
“I’m going to miss it, but I’m going to come back and watch the shows in years to come,” she said.
Hadas and Lents were well-paired as a duet for “Does He Love You?”, precluding the Treble Choir’s charming delivery of “My Best Friend’s Wedding.”
The Show Choir pulled off an absorbing and fun finale, combining “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” and “Love train” before Setzer asked choral alumni to join in on the traditional senior tribute “An Irish Blessing.”
As witness to her dedication to teaching students music, Setzer left the concert not for home but for Greensboro, North Carolina, where she would be preparing five of her middle school students for a performance with the competitive All-State Chorus the next day.
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