Patrons should support Marble Falls HS choir on Sunday
While this effort certainly reflects a pinnacle of achievement for the 44-member singing elite, there is no doubt the entire choir, all 145 souls, has made tremendous progress the last three years under the guidance of director Bryce Gage.
Of course, Gage will be the first to admit his students’ talents speak for themselves, and during a recent performance before the Marble Falls Daybreak Rotary Club, he gave credit where credit was due.
“This group is easily the best group I have ever taught,” Gage said.
He was not being modest. This really is a talented group of teen performers. And they deserve to go to Washington, D.C., for the Christmas memory of a lifetime. They are excellent representatives of the community.
The Marble Falls Independent School District board has ensured the trip will happen, appropriating $37,000 to cover airfare, hotel costs and other travel expenses so the performance will take place as scheduled Dec. 9.
But these kids are troupers, and two days before — on Sunday — the entire 145-member choir including the Chorale will present a holiday concert at 1:30 p.m. at the high school, 2101 Mustang Drive.
The concert is free. When it is over, the members of the Chorale will wave goodbye and immediately head to the airport, where they will board a flight to the nation’s capital.
No rest for the weary, it seems. And yet what memories they will build — and share — when they journey to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. half a continent away. This will be a story the Chorale can tell their grandchildren.
Like a puzzle skillfully assembled, these young performers have formed a dynamic union of gifted artists.
The public is encouraged to see the show Sunday, to witness firsthand the talent this community has produced, to feel their spirits rise with songs of the season both festive and sublime.
The Chorale has been working hard. In addition to choir practice during regular classes, they have also spent up to 14 hours a week in night rehearsals getting ready for the open house in Washington.
When they first learned of the invitation a little more than a month ago, the singers had two seasonal songs in their repertoire. Today they have learned 26, which is good because they are expected to perform a 90-minute show.
But there is more to the story than that. Gage and Jennie Lyn Hodges, the new choir director, have cultivated a diverse group of students — athletes, FFA members, debate team — into a skilled set of performers.
That is something the entire community can take pride in.
When Gage first arrived from Sherman, there were 19 members of the choir. The number has since grown to 145; where there once was only two boys, now there are 31.
Only three of those are graduating, so that means the talent pool will not be drained when sessions start again next year. The program will doubtless have grown by then.
In the meantime, there is plenty on tap for 2009, including a January production of “Music Man,” four shows featuring 80 cast and crew drawn from across the campus, not to mention 40 band members.
Then the choir takes a trip to Boston in the spring.
Gage, Hodges, the choir and their parents all deserve a round of applause. What they have achieved in such a short time is phenomenal.
The entire choir, not just the Chorale, is bringing good exposure to the Marble Falls area while exploring great opportunities. They are a credit to themselves and their community.