March 31, 2023
WE MADE IT! NACC 2023! Students in Voices of Steel, Treble Choir, Chamber Singers, and Chorale took a trip to Orlando for the National A Cappella Convention. Despite some significant travel disruptions on the way home, the trip was incredibly successful. Students got to perform in an Honor Choir led by Deke Sharon, along with singers from all over the country. Voices of Steel had an amazing master class with Viridian Productions’ Mel Daneke, and they made their debut on the NACC Showcase Stage. We all enjoyed shows by pro groups Musae, The Beatbox House, and Spiderhorse, as well as other amazing amateur high school and college a cappella groups. In addition, students got to spend one day at Universal and one day at Magic Kingdom, and even had some time to relax in the pool in the 90° weather! We can’t wait to start planning our next trip!
Choral Groups
CHORAL NIGHT! Mark your calendars for our Annual Choral Night Concert! May 23, 2023 - with performances by all the choral / vocal groups in the WHS Choral Department, as well as the 8th Grade Chorus! Today marks the end of Term 3, so as we begin Term 4, we also start to plan for end of the year performances, such as the in-school WMHS Memorial Day Ceremony and WMHS Graduation.
JUNIOR DISTRICTS - Freshmen Lucy Spry, Cavan Hill, McKayla Herzog, and JaMauri Belmer performed in the Junior District Treble and Mixed Choruses on March 17. Treble Chorus was conducted by Jennifer Kane, of the Handel & Haydn Society, and Mixed Chorus was conducted by Kenneth Griffin of the Boston Children’s Chorus. The concert was incredibly inspiring; both groups demonstrated incredible growth from the start of the festival to the final performances. I’m so proud of these students!
A Cappella Groups
The night before we left for Orlando, Voices of Steel was thrilled to perform with and for the 4th Grade All-Town Chorus, one of their favorite performances of the year.! Tonight, they perform with groups from Belmont, Belmont, Marblehead, and Newton, as well as the Tufts’ Beelzebubs at the Belmont High School A Cappella Night. Next week, they will perform at VPAD - a longstanding department tradition that is finally returning after 4 years! Voices of Steel Insta | Voices of Steel FB | Mic Drop Insta
Student Perspective Please enjoy this note from one of our students, sophomore Brendan Leane.
Hi! I’m Brendan Leane, a sophomore here at WMHS, and I’m the 2022-23 Bass section leader for Chamber Singers. I’m also a member of Mic Drop. In Chamber Singers we are working on difficult pieces and push ourselves each and every rehearsal to achieve excellence. This month the Choral department went on a trip to Orlando where Voices of Steel performed at the National A Cappella Convention. Non VOS members performed as a part of the Honor Choir. We had loads of fun, made lots of music, and met many many friends from all over the country. All of us learned that we can do hard things (and trust us WE DID). We can’t wait for more performance opportunities in the future!
UPCOMING EVENTS Visual and Performing Arts Day (is back!!) - April 5
WHS Theater presents “Annie” - May 5-7, April 12, 13 All vocal groups: Choral Night - Tuesday, May 23 (Dress rehearsal Monday, May 22)
Saturday, June 10, A Cappella in a Day (ACIAD)
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